GB 



DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fkanklin K. Lane, Secretary 



United States Geological Survey 

George Otis Smith, Director 
WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 423 



GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES 

OF 

BIG SMOKY. CLAYTON, AND ALKALI SPRING 
VALLEYS, NEVADA 



BY 



OSCAR E. MEINZER 




WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

1917 



'»o|fraph 




Book .M4-Nl^ 



/ 



DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Franklin K. Lane, Secretary 



United States Geological Survey 

George Otis Smith, Director 



Water-Supply Paper 423 



GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES 

OF 

BIG SMOKY, CLAYTON, AND ALKALI SPRING 
VALLEYS, NEVADA 



BY 



OSCAR E. MEINZER 




WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 
1917 



"h 






0. ot D. 
JUN 13 i9ir 



^ 



CONTENTS. 



Pago, 

Big Smoky Valley 9 

Introduction *. 9 

Geographic sketch 9 

Historical sketch 11 

Previous investigations and literatiu-e 15 

Physiography 17 

General features 17 

Moimtains 18 

Toyabe Range 18 

Main features 18 

Glaciation theory 20 

Faulting theory 22 

Toquima Range 22 

San Antonio Range 23 

Lone Mountain 23 

Silver Peak Range. . „ 23 

Monte Cristo Range 23 

Shoshone Range 24 

Alluvial fans 24 

Relation of fans to canyons 24 

Relation of valley axis to fans 27 

Alluvial divides 29 

Shore features 29 

The two a,ncient lakes 29 

Shore feattn-es of Lake Toyabe 32~ 

Spaulding beaches 32 

Daniels beaches 32 

Vigus beach 33 

Minium beaches 33 

Schmidtlein beaches 33 

Chamock beaches 34 

Rogers beaches 34 

Gendron and Millett beaches 35 

Logan beach 35 

Shore features of Lake Tonopah 35 

Railroad beaches 35 

Alpine beaches 37 

Desert Well beach 37 

French Well beaches 38 

Origin of shore features 38 

Lake stages 40 

Postlacustrine changes 41 

3 



4 CONTENTS. 

Big Smoky Valley — Continued. 

Physiography — Continued. Page. 

Playas : 42 

General features 42 

Playas in the upper valley 43 

Playas in the lower valley 43 

Fault scarps 44 

Streamways 45 

Dunes and wind-formed mounds 48 

Spring terraces and mounds 50 

Buttes 50 

Geology 51 

Paleozoic sedimentary and metamorphic rocks 51 

Granitic rocks 52 

Tertiary eruptive rocks 52 

Tertiary sedimentary rocks 53 

Quaternary deposits 57 

General conditions 57 

Stream deposits 58 

Beach gravels 60 

Playa and lake beds 60 

Dune sands 61 

Travertine 61 

Salt deposits 62 

Geologic history 62 

Paleozoic and Mesozoic events 62 

Tertiary events 63 

Quaternary events 64 

Precipitation 65 

Records 65 

Geographic distribution 66 

Seasonal distribution 67 

Streams 68 

General features 68 

Streams in the Toyabe Range 71 

Streams in the Toqiuma Range 77 

Groxuid-water intake 78 

Sources 78 

Contributions by perennial streams 79 

Contributions by floods from dry canyons 83 

Contributions by underflow 84 

Contributions by precipitation in the valley 85 

Contributions from bedrock 85 

Summary 86 

Ground-water discharge 86 

Processes and area 86 

Springs 86 

Character and distribution 86 

West-side spring line 87 

Daniels Springs 87 

Gendron Springs 87 

McLeod Springs 88 

Millett Springs 88 

Jones Springs 88 

Rogers Springs 88 



CONTENTS. 5 

Big Smoky Valley — Continued. 

Ground-water dischai'ge — Continued. 
Springs — Continued . 

West-side spring line — Continued. Page. 

Moore Lake Spring 88 

Logan Springs 89 

Darrough Hot Springs 89 

Moore Springs 89 

Wood Springs 90 

Fault-scarp springs 90 

Spencer Hot Springs '. 90 

Charnock Springs 91 

San Antonio Springs 91 

Springs at the mouth of lone Valley 92 

Springs in the southern part of the lower valley 92 

Discharge from soil and plants 92 

Processes 92 

Criteria 93 

Kinds of criteria 93 

Moisture of soil and position of water table 93 

Soluble salts 94 

Vegetation 95 

Areas of discharge 97 

Relation of discharge to water table 100 

Rate of discharge 102 

Water levels 104 

Water-bearing capacities 107 

Artesian supplies 110 

Developments 110 

Prospects , 111 

Conservation 112 

Methods of drilling 113 

Quality of water and of alkali in soil 114 

Soiu-ces of data 114 

Dissolved substances 115 

Provinces 115 

Relation of quality to geologic formations 118 

Relation of quality to concentration processes 119 

Relation of quality to use 121 

Domestic use 121 

Use in boilers 123 

Use for irrigation 123 

Public suppUes 124 

Tonopah 124 

Development of supply 124 

Physical features of source 124 

Wells 125 

Pumping plant and distributing system 126 

Consumption of water 126 

Cost 126 

QuaUty 127 

Manhattan 127 

Round Mountain 128 

Millers „ 128 



6 CONTENTS. 

Big Smoky Valley — Continued. Page. 

Irrigation 128 

Developments 128 

Crops and markets 130 

Irrigation from wells 131 

Wells 131 

Pumps 131 

Power 133 

Cost 135 

Favorable areas 137 

Conclusions 138 

Clayton Valley 140 

Location and developments 140 

Physiograpliy 140 

Geology 141 

Occurrence and level of ground water 143 

Source and discharge of ground water 144 

Soil and vegetation 145 

Quality of water 146 

Ground-water prospects 146 

Alkali Spring Valley 147 

Location and development 147 

Physiography 147 

.Geology 148 

Occurrence and level of ground water 148 

Source and discharge of ground water 149 

Quality of water 150 

Ground-water prospects 151 

Goldfield water supply 151 

Analyses of waters and soils 153 

Index 163 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Plate I. Map of the drainage basin of Big Smoky Valley, Nov., showing 

geology and physiography In pocket. 

II. Map of the drainage basin of Big Smoky Valley, Nev., showing 

ground- water conditions and zones of vegetation In pocket. 

III. Toyabe Range and adjacent part of valley, showing two types of topog- 
raphy in the mountains and features produced by faulting in the 

valley 18 

IV. Upper valley of Birch Creek, showing mature topography of the upper 

part of the Toyabe Range and water-bearing detritus 19 

V. -4, Mouth of Santa Fe Canyon, showing absence of glacial features and 
presence of birch trees, which indicate water; B, Transported granite 

bowlder 24 

VI. Short, steep alluvial fan cut by the stream from Kingston Canyon. . 25 
VII. Part of upper Big Smoky Valley, showing alluvial slope and playa. . . 42 
VIII. A, Playa and mounds in lower Big Smoky Valley; B, Same when 

flooded.. 43 

IX. A, Fault scarp at foot of Lone Mountain; B, Fault scarp at foot of 

Toyabe Range 44 

X. Faidt scarp on alluvial slope adjacent to Lone Mountain 45 

XI. A, Section of beach ridge; B, Outcrop of valley fill in upper part of 

alluvial slope 60 

XII. Diagram showing fluctuations of the water-level in the well of F. J. 

Jones and their relation to precipitation, temperatiue, and humidity. 102 

XIII. Map of Clayton Valley ' 140 

XIV. Alcatraz "Island," in Clayton Valley, a hill of Cambrian limestone 

nearly submerged by playa deposits 142 

XV. Map of Alkali Sprng Valley 148 

Figure 1. Map of Nevada showing boundary of Great Basin, Pleistocene lake 
beds, areas covered by ground-water siuveys, and drainage basins 
described in this paper 10 

2. Profiles across beaches and beach ridges in Big Smoky Valley 31 

3. Profile of Santa Fe Canyon, showing recently cut notch 46 

4. Sketch map of axial part of valley south-southwest of Cloverdale, at 

junction of lone and Cloverdale draws 46 

5. Cross section of axial part of valley south-southwest of Cloverdale. 

showing channels cut by drainage from lone Valley 47 

6. Map of the vicinity of the Spencer Hot Springs 50 

7. Section of the Esmeralda formation 55 

8. Diagram showing average monthly precipitation at stations in or 

near Big Smoky Valley 68 

9. Diagrams showing relative amounts of the principal radicles dis- 

solved in the average waters of the three provinces of Big Smoky 
Valley 118 

10. Diagram of a pumping plant consisting of horizontal centrifugal pump 

driven by an internal-combustion engine 135 

11. Map and profile of the Lida system of the Goldfield waterworks 152 

7 



GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES OF BIG SMOKY, 
CLAYTON, AND ALKALI SPRING VALLEYS, NEVADA. 



By Oscar E. Meinzer. 



BIG SMOKY VALLEY. 
INTRODUCTION. 

GEOGRAPHIC SKETCH. 

Big Smoky Valley is a typical Nevada desert valley— a plain 
hemmed in by momitain ranges and underlain by porous rock waste 
eroded from these ranges and saturated with water discharged from 
them. Like most of the valleys of the State, it has a general north- 
south elongation and an interior drainage. The valley itself com- 
prises somewhat more than 1,300 square miles (exclusive of lone 
Valley), and the entire drainage basin includes 3,250 square miles, 
being 130 miles long and extending from a point near the geographic 
center of the State to a point less than 20 miles from the California 
line. The valley lies in parts of Lander, Nye, and Esmeralda coun- 
ties and is crossed by the thirty-eighth and thirty-ninth parallels and 
by the one hundred and seventeenth meridian (fig. 1). 

A low, gentle, alluvial swell west of Manhattan divides the area 
draining to Big Smoky Valley into a north basin, which contains the 
upper valley, and a south basin, which contains the lower valley. 
Each of these basins held a lake in the Pleistocene epoch and now 
contains an alkali flat. lone Valley, which lies west of Big Smoky 
Valley proper and has a drainage basin including about 500 square 
miles, discharges into the lower valley from the northwest and hence 
forms a part of the south basin. The lowest point in the north basin 
is 5,443 feet and the lowest point in the south basin is about 4,720 
feet above sea level. Arc Dome, in the Toyabe Range, is 11,775 feet 
above sea level and is the culminating point of the mountain rim that 
incloses Big Smoky Valley. 

The climate exhibits the features characteristic of aridity. At one 
station in the northern part of the valley the average annual precipi- 



10 



BIO SMOKY VALLEY. 



tation during a period of six years was found to be 6.55 inches. In 
the southern part the precipitation is still less, and only on a few of 




FiGUEE 1. — Map of Nevada showing boundary of Great Basin, Pleistocene lake bods (so far as known), 
areas covered by ground-water surveys, and drainage basins described in this paper. 

the highest mountains is it considerably more. Owing to differences 
in both latitude and altitude there are appreciable differences in 



UirTRODUCTION. 11 

temperature within the region, the climate being distinctly more 
rigorous in the northern than in the southern part of the valley. 

The drainage basin of Big Smoky Valley is sparsely populated. 
Tonopah, 'near its southeast corner, contains most of the inhabitants. 
In 1913 it was said to have a population of 7,000 and was probably 
the largest mining town in the State. Most of the rest of the in- 
habitants of the basin are in the mining and miUing towns of Man- 
hattan, Round Mountain, and Millers, and at a number of ranches 
along the west side of the northern part of the valley. 

Big Smoky Valley is most conveniently reached over branch lines 
connecting with the main line of the Southern Pacific Railroad be- 
tween Oakland and Ogden. A branch of the Southern Pacific leads 
from the main Hne at Hazen to Rhodes, where it connects with 
the Tonopah & Goldfield Railroad, which leads to Tonopah and Gold- 
field, In 1913 Pullman cars were operated daily between Oakland 
and Goldfield by way of Tonopah. The Tonopah & Goldfield Rail- 
road also connects at Rhodes with a branch of the Southern Pacific 
leading to southern CaUfornia by way of Owens Valley, and at Gold- 
field with the Las Vegas & Tonopah Railroad and the Tonopah & 
Tidewater Railroad. The Las Vegas & Tonopah fine leads to Las 
Vegas, which is on the San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad. 
Automobile stages connect Tonopah with Manhattan and Round 
Mountain. The northern part of Big Smoky Valley can be reached 
over the Nevada Central Railroad, which connects Battle Mountain, 
on the main Hne of the Southern Pacific, with Austin, situated a few 
miles northwest of this valley. 

HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

The old Overland stage route crossed Big Smoky Valley near its 
north end.^ Little appears, however, to have been known of the 
region by white men until 1862, when a vein of rich silver ore was 
discovered in Reese River valley, near the present site of Austin, by 
WilUam M. Talcott, who had been a pony-express rider. In the 
same year Lander County was organized, and Jacobsville, at the 
Overland stage station, was made the county seat. In 1863 Austin 
was settled and became the principal town of the Reese River mining 
district.^ 

The mountain areas adjacent to Big Smoky VaUey in many locali- 
ties contain rich ores of the precious metals, and the history of the 
region since 1862 is primarily a history of mining operations. During 
the last half century the region has had an ever-changing population 

1 Map showing detailed topography of the country traversed by the reconnaissance expedition through 
southern a,nd southeastern Nevada in charge of Lieut. George M. Wheeler, U. S. engineer, assisted by 
Lieut. O. W. Lockwood (P. W. Hamel, chief topographer and draftsman), 1869. 

2 Bancroft, H. H., History of Nevada, Colorado, and Wyoming, pp. 264-267, San Francisco, The History 
Publishing Co., 1890. 



12 BIG SMOKY VALLEY. 

of prospectors, who have scrutinized every hillside and canyon of its 
interminable labyrinth of desert ranges. Occasionally some one has 
come on a deposit of high-grade ore, and with meteoric suddenness 
and brilliancy a new mining camp has sprung into fame. After hav- 
ing had a productive period of great prosperity the typical camp has 
declined and finally, perhaps, gone to ruin, while attention was 
attracted to a new camp, which m turn had its period of prosperity 
and decline. 

In 1864 ore was discovered 60 miles south of Austin in the Shoshone 
Range, as a result of which Nye County was organized, with the newly 
established town of lone as its comity seat. In 1865 the town of Bel- 
mont was founded on the east side of the Toquima Range. In 1867 
or thereabout this town became the county seat of Nye County, and 
for many years it was a well-known mining center.^ Rich ore was 
discovered in Ophir Canyon, on the east side of the Toyabe Range, 
and in 1866 a mill was erected in this locality. Other well-known 
camps in the early days of mining development were Jefferson, in 
Jefferson Canyon, on the west side of the Toquima Range, and Grants- 
ville, about 8 miles south of lone. 

The principal base of supplies for this region before the railroad was 
buUt was Sacramento, Cal., situated on the navigable Sacramento 
River, about 350 miles from Austin. The very high freight rates 
made the cost of supplies excessive, and consequently only ore with 
high values could be profitably mined. Bancroft ^ gives the following 
information on freight and passenger rates and on the cost of living : 

In 1862 freight from Sacramento to Virginia City was $120 per ton, and the total 
freight money amounted to nearly $5,000,000. * * * Being directly upon the 
overland route, Austin had stage communication with the east and west, besides which 
special lines were established. The passenger traffic for 1865 was estimated at G,000 
fares between Vhginia City and Austin, at $40 a fare. The freight carried over the 
road cost $1,381,800 for transportation from this dhection alone, besides what came 
from Salt Lake. Lumber transported from the mills of the Sierra cost $250 per thou- 
sand feet, and that sawed out of the native pifion $125 per thousand. Brick manu- 
factured at Reese River cost $12 to $18 per thousand, and other things in proportion. 
The treasure carried by the express company that year aggregated $6,000,000. 

In May, 1868, the Central Pacific Railroad was completed to Reno, 
and the next year the transcontinental line was finished. The Nevada 
Central Railroad, a narrow-gage line from the main line to Austin, was 
completed in 1880. Soon after this the Carson & Colorado Railroad, 
also a narrow-gage line, was built southward through Sodaville, which 
later became the supply station for the southern part of the vaUey.^ 

After the first decade or two of activity the mining industry of the 
region gradually dechned untU 1900, when a new epoch of mining 
activity was opened as a result of the discovery of rich silver and gold 

1 Bancroft, H. H., op. cit., pp. 264-267. a idem, pp. 232-240. 

2 Idem, pp. 23.'), 268. 



IISTTRODUCTION. 13 

deposits by James L. Butler, at the present site of Tonopah. The 
town of Tonopah sprang into existence the next year and at once 
became a large producer. At first the ore was hauled in wagons to 
Austin by way of Belmont, but later it was hauled to Sodaville, a dis- 
tance of about 60 mUes, and shipped by rail to the smelters at Salt 
Lake City. Gold was found in 1902 near the present site of Goldfield, 
and by 1904 that town was in a flourishing condition. In 1904 a 
narrow-gage railroad was buUt to Tonopah, and m 1905 it was con- 
verted into a standard-gage road and extended to Goldfield. In 1905 
the electric transmission lines of the Nevada-California Power Co. 
reached Tonopah from Bishop Creek, CaL, a distance of about 90 
miles. The next year a 100-stamp miU and cyanide plant of the 
Desert Power & Mill Co. began operating at MiQers, and the year 
following a 60-stamp mill of the Tonopah-Belmont Development Co. 
was completed at the same place.* 

Manhattan, on the west slope of the Toquima Range, a short dis- 
tance up the canyon from Central, was started in 1905 when high- 
grade ore was discovered in that vicinity. The latest developments 
at this place have been in placer mining in Manhattan Cany on. ^ 
The camp at Round Mountain, a short distance southwest of the old 
town of Jefferson, came into existence in 1906, when gold was dis- 
covered there.^ 

In addition to the towns that have been mentioned the region con- 
tains a number of smaller mining centers in various stages of develop- 
ment or decay. 

In 1913 Tonopah was very prosperous and the mUls at MiUers were 
in fuU operation, Goldfield was still active although not so prosperous 
as a few years earher, Manhattan and Round Mountain were both 
active, and the Httle town of Blan, at the terminus of a 19-mLle branch 
railroad extending southeast from Blair Junction on the Tonopah & 
Goldfield Raflroad, was the busy center of the SUver Peak mining 
district and the site of a 120-stamp mUl and cyanide plant at which 
the ore of the district — chiefly rather low grade gold ore — was con- 
centrated. The latest producer was Repubhc, a small camp on the 
west side of the valley, from which a little ore was hauled to MiUers. 
At Austin there was almost no mining activity but the town retained 
considerable importance as a trade center for a large area. 

In an arid region, such as this, water for mining and milling and for 
domestic uses at the mining camps is frequently very difficult to 
procure. At Tonopah water was at first brought on the backs of 

1 This paragraph is abstracted from an address by A. T. Johnson entitled "M inin g in the Tonopah 
district": Am. Min. Cong. Twelfth Ann. Sess. Proc, pp. 412-417, 1909. 

See also Spurr, J. E., Geology of the Tonopah mining district,JISrev.: U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 42, 
pp. 25-29, 1905; and Ransome, F. L., The geology and ore deposits of Goldfield, Nev.: U. S. Geol. Survey 
Prof. Paper 66, pp. 16-23, 1909. 

2 Evans, G. R., Manhattan: Am. Min. Cong. Twelfth Ann. Sess. Proc, pp. 398-400, 1909. 

3 Loftus, J. P., Round Mountain— Its mines and its history: Idem, pp. 445-448. 



14 BIG SMOKY VALLEY, 

burros from wells in the valley to the east. Later wells in the hills 
about four miles north of town provided a small supply, which was led to 
the town through a pipe line. StiU later a larger and better supply was 
procured for the community at rather heavy cost by pumping from 
wells in Ralston Valley, 11 miles from Tonopah, through a pipe Hne 
to a reservoir on the summit of tlie range north of town.^ At Man- 
hattan water for domestic use was found by sinking wells above the 
town, and small supplies for placer mining are pumped from the 
shafts through which the pay gravels are recovered. At Roimd 
Mountain water for domestic use is obtained from Shoshone Creek 
and for hydrauhc mining from Shoshone and Jefferson creeks, the 
mining supply having been provided at considerable cost. In 1914 
a project was undertaken to lead the water of Jett Creek, in the 
Toyabe Range, to Round Mountain, for use in mining. At both 
Manhattan and Round Mountain the rate of production, m so far as 
placer and hydraulic mining are concerned, is controlled largely by 
the quantity of water available. In locating the miUs at Millers 
advantage was taken of the relative abundance of ground water 
underlying Big Smoky VaUey. 

Most of the ranches of this region have been in existence a long 
time and their history is related to that of the mming camps. As a 
rule they were estabhshed where small suppHes for irrigation could 
be obtained from springs or mountain streams and where, conse- 
quently, agriculture could be combined with cattle ranching. The 
principal crops are alfalfa and wild hay, but vegetables, fruits, and 
other foodstuffs are produced for the local markets. The revival of 
mining since the discovery of ore at Tonopah in 1900 has created 
new markets for farm produce and has accordingly made the ranchers 
more prosperous. 

Most of the ranches are on the west side of the upper valley, where 
water from the canyons of the Toyabe Range and from scores of 
springs that issue from the valley fill is available. The main wagon 
and automobile road from Austin to Manhattan and thence to 
Tonopah runs along the west side of the upper valley and in this 
part of its course passes a dozen inhabited ranch houses. There are 
several other inhabited ranches on the west side of the upper valley 
but very few on the east side, and there are none in the lower valley 
except the Cloverdale ranch and two or three ranches along Pcavme 
Creek. A number of these ranches, as well as some that are now 
abandoned, have been well known as stage stations or watering and 
camping places for freighters and other travelers. Birch Creek 
(Spencer ranch), Minium station (Bowman's ranch), MiUett, 
Darrough Hot Springs, San Antonio, Midway station, and Monte- 
zuma wells have aU at some time been stage stations. 

1 Spurr, J. E., Geology of the Tonopah mining district, Nev.: U.S. Geol. Survey Pror. Paper 42, p. 
28, 1905. 



IN"TEODUCTIO]Sr. 15 

PREVIOUS INVESTIGATIONS AND LITERATURE. 

The Toyabe, Shoshone, and Toquima ranges attracted the atten- 
tion of geologists in the decade following the discovery of ore at 
Austin, when rich mines were opened in various parts of these ranges. 
The most important geologic work done within the drainage basin of 
Big Smoky Valley in the early days was that of Emmons, who, in 
1869 (?), in connection with the King Survey, studied the Toyabo 
range and also made observations in the Shoshone and Toquima 
ranges. Arnold Hague, of the same survey, also visited the moun- 
tains adjacent to the upper valley. In 1871 Gilbert, who was con- 
nected with the Wheeler Survey, made an expedition from Battle 
Mountain to Ophir Canyon by way of Austin and thence crossed the 
upper valley on his way to Belmont. 

Little attention was given to the region by geologists during the 
years of mining decadence. In 1899 Turner and Weeks worked in 
the Silver Peak and Lone Mountain ranges, and Spurr, in his recon- 
naissance of Nevada south of the fortieth parallel, crossed Big Smoky 
VaUey over the road leading from Behnont to lone by way of Clover- 
dale. After the discovery of ore at Tonopah, in the following year, 
the region again became attractive to mining geologists and has been 
visited by many of them. In 1904 Spurr made an intensive study of 
the Tonopah district. 

The valley itself has received very little attention by geologists. 
The following note on the upper valley is given by Emmons in his 
paper on the Toyabe Range :^ 

Smoky Valley, on the east, is both deeper and wider than Reese River Valley, and 
forms an independent basin; the waters flowing into it from this range all drain toward a 
large mud or alkali flat, opposite Park Canon, which is about 18 miles long by 6 miles 
wide; a low divide, opposite the Hot Springs, forms the southern limit of this basin, 
though the valley extends over a hundred miles farther south without any consid- 
erable change of level. Such alkali flats as this form a very characteristic feature in 
the scenery of the great plateau; partially covered by water from the melting of the 
snows in spring and early summer, its sm'face, destitute of all vegetation, is left, by the 
evaporation of these waters, incrusted with a thin, white coating of mineral salts. At 
its northern extremity is the so-called salt marsh, where these incrustations are so 
considerable that large quantities of the salts (here containing from 50 to 60 per cent 
of chloride of sodium) are collected for use in the reduction works in the vicinity. It 
is probable that saline springs exist under this portion of the flat, as the salts which have 
been removed are constantly replaced by fresh incrustations. 

The following description of the upper valley is given in Eang's 
report on the systematic geology of the region of the Fortieth Par- 
allel Survey:^ 

East of Toyabe Range, in Smoky Valley, there is a prominent depression, formed of 
Lower Quaternary stratified clays, which receives the drainage of the mountains on 
both sides, and is a wet, marshy clay bed during winter and a hard, smooth, alkali flat 

1 Emmons, S. F., Geology of Toyabe Range: U. S. Geol. Expl. 40th Par. Rept., vol. 3, pp. 322 and 323, 
1870. 

2 King, Clarence, U. S. Geol. Expl. 40th Par. Rept., vol. 1, Systematic geology, p. 503, 1878. 



16 BIG SMOKY VALLEY. 

during summer. At tlie northern or lowest portion of this alkaline plain there is a 
region of reasonably pui'e chloride of sodium, which is derived from the evaporation 
of saline springs that pour their water into the valley. The salt proves to have 90 per 
cent of chloride of sodium and a little over 9 per cent of sulphate of potash. 

The existence of a Pleistocene lake in the upper valley is shown on 
the large map accompanying Russell's paper on Lake Lahontan/ 
but nothing about the beaches in the lower valley has been found in 
the literature except a bare mention of them by Free ^ in a recent 
paper. 

The following list includes the titles of the principal papers dealing 
with the geology of the drainage basin of Big Smoky Valley: 

Evans, C. R., Manhattan mining district: Am. Mining Cong. Twelfth Ann. Sess. 

Proc.,pp. 398-400, 1909. 
Emmons, S. F., Geology of the Toyabe Range: U. S. Geol. Expl. 40th Par. Rept., vol. 

3, pp. 320-348, 1870. 
Emmons, W. H., and Garrey, G. H., Notes on the Manhattan district: U. S. Geol. 

Survey Bull. 303, pp. 84-93, 1907. 
Free, E. E., The topographic features of the desert basins of the United States with 

reference to the possible occm'rence of potash: U. S. Dept. Agr. Bull. 54, 1914. 
Gilbert, G. K., The geology of portions of Nevada, Utah, California, and Arizona 

examined in 1871 and 1872: U. S. Geol. Surveys W. 100th Mer. Rept., vol. 3, pp. 

25, 36, 87, 121, and 184, 1875. 
Hague, Arnold, Mining and milling at Reese River: U. S. Geol. Expl. 40th Par. 

Rept:, vol. 3, pp. 349-405, 1870. 
— — — Region east of Reese River: U. S. Geol. Expl. 40th Par. Rept., vol. 2, pp. 

627-641, 1877. 
Hill, J. M., Some mining districts in northeastern California and northwestern 

Nevada: U. S. Geol. Sm-vey Bull. 594, 1915. 
Johnson, A. T., Mining in the Tonopah district: Am. Mining Cong. Twelfth Ann. Sess. 

Proc, pp. 412-417, 1909. 
King, Clarence, Systematic geology : U. S. Geol. Expl. 40th Par. Rept., vol. 1, 1878* 
LoFTUS, J. P., Round Mountain, its mines and its history: Am. Mining Cong. Twelfth 

Ann. Sess. Proc, pp. 45^48, 1909. 
Russell, I. C, Geological history of Lake Lahontan, a Quaternary lake of north- 
western Nevada: U. S. Geol. Survey Mon. 11, 1885. 
Spurr, J. E., Descriptive geology of Nevada south of the 40th parallel and adjacent 

portions of California: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 208, 1903. 
— — ■ — Coal deposits between Silver Peak and Candelaria, Esmeralda County, Nev.: 

U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 225, pp. 289-292, 1904. 
— — — Preliminary report on the ore deposits of Tonopah: U. S. Geol. Siu'vey Bull. 

225, pp. 89-111, 1904. 
Geology of the Tonopah mining district, Nev. : U. S. Geol. Sm-vey Prof. Paper 

42, 1905. 

Ore deposits of the Silver Peak quadrangle, Nev.: U. S. Geol. Sm'vey Prof. 



Paper 55, 1906. 

Turner, H. W., The Esmeralda formation: Am. Geologist, vol. 25, p. 168, 1900. 
The Esmeralda formation, a fresh- water lake deposit, with a description of the 

fossil plants by F. H. Knowlton and of a fossil fish by F. A. Lucas: U. S. GeoL 

Survey Twenty-first Ann. Rept., pt. 2, pp. 192-244, 1900. 

1 Russell, I. C, Geological history of Lake Lahontan, a Quaternary lake of northwestern Nevada: T. S. 
Geol. Survey Mon. 11, 1885. 

2 Free, E. E., The topographic features of the desert basins of the United States with reference to the 
possible occwrence of potash: U. S. Dept. Agr. Bull. 54, p. 33, 1914. 



BIG SMOKY VALLEY. 17 

PHYSIO GRAPHY. 
GENERAL FEATURES.. 

The trend of the main trough of Big Smoky Valley is in general 
northeast and southwest. The northern part of the basin trends 
■nearly north and south, but southward it curves gradually toward 
the west, and near the south end of the basin the trend is more nearly 
east and west than north and south. The borders of this trough are 
formed by several mountain ranges and intervening saddles. A very 
gentle swell in the surface of the valley between Manhattan and 
Round Mountain forms the divide that separates the basin into two 
distinct parts. (See Pis. I and II, in pocket.) 

The upper valley is bordered on the east by the Toquima Range 
and on the west by the Toyabe Range, the largest and highest moun- 
tain range in the basin. At their north ends these two ranges are 
more or less united by low hiUs and ridges that inclose the vaUey; 
southward their divergence gives the valley a width of 10 to 14 miles, 
but near their south ends they are less than 5 miles apart and hold 
between them the swell that separates the upper and lower valleys. 

The lower valley is bordered on the east by the San Antonio Range, 
on the south by Lone Mountain, on the southwest by the Silver Peak 
Range, on the west by the Monte Cristo Range and associated ridges, 
and on the north by the ends of the Toyabe and Shoshone ranges. 
Between the detached ranges the boundry of the basin is formed by 
broad low saddles. 

The Shoshone Mountains form a comparatively high range lying 
west of the Toyabe Range and parallel with it. West of the Shoshone 
Mountains is the large lone Valley, and west of that valley are the 
Paradise Range and several low indefinite ridges. lone VaUey is 
drained through what is practically a rock gap into the lower division 
of Big Smoky VaUey. The Toyabe and Shoshone ranges coalesce at 
their south ends, forming a massive mountain area. Farther north, 
however, the Reese River valley, which is drained northward into 
Humboldt River, intervenes between the two ranges and thus bifur- 
cates the basin of Big Smoky Valley. 

This basin, like most other desert basins, comprises two strongly 
contrasted types of topography, one in the mountains and the other 
in the valley. The mountains have a relief of several thousand feet 
and their surface has been eroded or carved by streams ; the valley 
has a relief of only a few hundred feet and most of its surface is 
formed of deposits laid down by streams. The mountains are steep 
sided and ahnost infinitely varied in topographic detail; the valley 
consists of smooth, gentle slopes and nearly level plains. In com- 

46979°— wsp 423— 17 2 



18 BIG SMOKY VALLEY. 

parison with the raountams the valley appears to a casual observer 
to be flat and monotonous. 

More careful study, however, shows that the valley contains many 
interesting physiographic features ; that its form is an expression of 
delicate adjustments between various physical forces operating in the 
basin and a record of the physical changes that occurred in at least 
the later part of the basin's existence. In general the relation of the 
mountains to the valley is that of cause and effect, and a study of the 
physiography of the basin therefore consists largely in correlating the 
land forms in the vaUey.with the causal conditions in the mountains. 

The greater part of the valley surface consists of coalescing alluvial 
fans, or slopes built of the rock waste discharged from the canyons. 
At their bases the slopes become very gentle and merge, in many 
places imperceptibly, into large playas, or alkali flats, that occupy 
the lowest parts of the upper and lower valleys. Superimposed on 
these main features are numerous scarps produced by recent faulting 
large ridges built by ancient lakes, hills and ridges of sand heaped up 
by the wind, and in a few places mounds and terraces built by springs. 
The alluvial fans have also been modified by large, deep streamways 
carved into them. 

MOUNTAINS. 
TOYABE RANGE. 

MAIN FEATURES. 

The Toyabe Range, which is the largest range in this basin, 
extends along the west side of the valley from its north end to beyond 
the Peavine ranch. The entire length of the range is about 100 
miles, and its extent within this basin is about 80 miles. It is a lofty 
and persistent mountain mass, its crest in many places being more 
than 10,000 feet above sea level, or about a mile above the alkali flat 
of the upper valley. Arc Dome, the highest peak, rises 11,775 feet 
above sea level, or more than 6,300 feet above the flat; Bunker HiU 
Peak, a conspicuous mountain farther north, rises 11,477 feet above 
sea level. The crest of the range is in general near the east edge, but 
near Bunker Hill Peak and Arc Dome the mountain areas draining 
eastward widen to about 7 miles, and farther south, where Peavine 
Creek heads, it is still wider. The steep east face of the range is 
rugged and is cut by deep precipitous walled canyons, but farther 
back the mountains, although having great relief, appear notably less 
rugged and more undulating (Pis. Ill and IV). Pine trees, large 
enough to be sawed into lumber, formerly grew on the mountains, 
but the timber now consists chiefly of a sparse growth of pinon, 
juniper, and mountain mahogany, with birch and wiUow in the 
canyons. 



PHYSIOGEAPHY. 19 

The following excellent description of the range by Emmons ^ is 
based on field work which he did about 1869: 

The name Toyabe, which, signifies in the Indian language "mountains," has been 

appropriately applied to this great range, whose sharp, serrated ridge rises several 

thousand feet above the neighboring ranges which rib the surface of the great Nevada 

plateau. The view from its summits extends over more than 4° of longitude and is 

limited only by the White Pine and East Humboldt Mountains on the east and the 

Sierra Nevadas on the west, whose forms and outlines can be traced with the utmost 

distinctness in the dry, thin air of these elevated regions. Snow rests upon its higher 

points until late in the summer and, with the verdure which accompanies it, forms a 

most pleasing contrast to the somber hues that prevail over the mountains of this 

arid region. Rising nearly 6,000 feet above the broad valleys which border it on either 

side, its height is rendered still more imposing by its limited lateral extent, its average 

width from foot to foot being scarcely 8 miles in a horizontal line ; contrasted with the 

steep slopes of its sides, the valleys, although very considerably inclined toward 

their center, seem almost level ground. 

******* 

This portion of the range has a trend of about N. 23° E. and in general outline 
forms a high single ridge, characterized by a short, steep declivity on the east and a 
longer and more gentle slope to the west; but a closer examination of its topography 
discloses a double-ridge system, which prevails through the greater part of its extent, 
giving rise to a series of interior longitudinal basins; hence the Une of the main water- 
shed is extremely sinuous, although that of N. 23° E. would pass through all the 
principal summits of the range. To the north the range consists of two low and some- 
what broken diverging ridges, inclosing between them the Park basin, which opens 
out farther north into the large meridional depression called Grass Valley. These 
ridges rise gradually to the south, preserving a certain parallelism, though broken 
through at various points by the waters of the high, narrow valleys which they inclose, 
until they reach their culminating points, respectively, in Bunker Hill and Big Creek 
peaks. In this extent, although the eastern ridge is generally over a thousand feet 
higher than the western, the greater part of their surface is drained into Smoky Valley 
through Park Creek, Birch Creek, and Kingston Creek, which break through the eastern 
ridge, while only Big Creek flows to the west. For a few miles south of Big Creek Peak 
the western ridge forms the main divide of the range, which bends round the head of 
Kingston Creek, but to the south of it forms a continuation of the main eastern ridge. 
For a distance of 25 miles south the range consists of a single and, in general direction, 
straight ridge, with steep, craggy slopes to the east, and long smooth western spurs. 
By the bend in this ridge to the westward at Summit Canyon the western summit 
again becomes the main divide, its continuation to the north being indicated by the 
widening of the spurs toward the west, which inclose the small basins at the heads of 
Cross and Washington canyons. This ridge grows higher toward the south, till in the 
sharp peak of Mount Boston [Arc Dome] it forms the highest crest of the range. The 
eastern ridge, meanwhile, finds its continuation in the shoulders of the eastern spurs, 
which, rising into high peaks at the Twin Rivers, inclose the large interior basins of 
these canyons, around whose head the main divide makes another bend to the eastward . 
These numerous mountain valleys afford most excellent summer grazing ground, 
their slopes being covered with bunch grass, which remains green and nutritious 
long after that of the plains is parched and worthless; they form, moreover, natural 
inclosmes, where cattle can' be left comparatively unwatched without danger of their 
straying. 

1 Emmons, S. F., Geology of the Toyabe Range: U. S. Geol. Expl. 40th Par. Kept., vol. 3, pp. 320-322, 
1870. 



20 BIG SMOKY VALLEY. 

The steep sheltered sides of many of the canyons of the range support a growth of 
pinon and juniper trees, with some yellow pine, fir, and mountain mahogany, which, 
though somewhat sparse, is abundant compared to the average mountain range of 
this region and sufficient to afford several years' supply of mining timber and fuel to 
mines that are Kkely to be opened. 

GI^CIATION THEORY. 

As this range is crossed by the thirty-ninth parallel of latitude, as 
its altitude is in many places between 10,000 and 12,000 feet above 
sea level, and as its present climate is sufficiently cold and humid to 
allow small quantities of snow occasionally to pass from one winter 
to the next, the conditions within it in the Pleistocene epoch, when 
the valley contained a large lake and when glaciers formed on many 
of the ranges of western United States, must have favored glaciation. 
It would, therefore, not be surprising to find evidence of incipient 
glaciation, although comparison with other ranges makes it seem 
improbable that large glaciers were formed or that any glaciers 
extended into the valley. 

The following statements are made by Emmons m regard "to evi- 
dences of glaciation which he beheved existed in the Toyabe Range: 

On the lower face of the foothills, just north of the mouth of Santa Fe Canyon, are 
the remarkable glacier polishings already mentioned. A thin seam of gray quartz, 
striking N. 15° E., with a dip of 59° E., here forms the face of the spur; its somewhat 
undulating surface has, on the salient parts, over a tolerably continuous extent of 
several hundred feet, received a mirror-like polish equal to the finest produced by 
artificial means, so that when the sun's rays strike upon it at the proper angle their 
reflection is visible as a bright point fi'om a distance of many miles. The lines of 
striation, which are only visible on a close examination, are parallel to the line of 
greatest inclination. The surrounding rock, which is a somewhat metamorphosed 
and slaty limestone, has not been of sufficient hardness to retain any other traces of 
glaciers, though it is evident that to this agency must be attributed these polishings. 
Their position is indeed singular at the foot of such a steep slope and entirely on the 
outside of the canyon basin; the head of this canyon, which extends up to the north- 
eastern crest of Bunker Hill, must have been filled by a glacier, whose lower end 
overlapped this spvir, which closes up, in a measure, the mouth of the canyon, and the 
descending mass of ice and gravel has worn away the less resisting rocks, while this 
sheet of quartz received its present high polish. As far as known, this is the only 
instance of such ice polishings in the range, though, as elsewhere remarked, the shape 
of the interior valleys seems to indicate that they were once filled by glaciers.' 

To what extent the present configuration of the range is due to glacial action is not 
easy to determine, since the decomposable nature of some of the rocks, and the posi- 
tion of the strata of others, are not adapted to preserve the traces of such action. 

From the fact, however, of glacier polishings having been found on the face of a 
spur, at the mouth of Santa Fe Canyon, in such a position as to necessitate the supposi- 
tion of the existence of a glacier in that canyon, whose lower extremity, covering the 
end of this spm-, extended out into Smoky Valley, it may be inferred that the basin- 
shaped heads of most of the large canyons were formerly filled by glaciers, which, flow- 
ing over the inclosing ridges at their lowest points, by their abrasion, followed the 

1 Emmons, S. F., Geology of the Toyabe Raxige: U. S. Geo!. Expl. 40th Par. Kept., vol. 3, p. 335, 1870. 



PHYSIOGBAPHY. 21 

course of the present canyons; the subsequent action of water having cut the narrow 
gorges which now exist in their lower portions. 

The great accumulations of debris at the mouths of the larger canyons, whose slope 
is frequently more than 6°, through wliich the waters have cut channels from 50 to 
100 feet deep and of more than double the width, favor this supposition, while the 
narrowness and steepness of the range, and the probable existence of lakes which 
filled the adjoining valleys, might account for the absence of any well-defined moraines. ^ 

Although the opinion of so thorough a geologist as Emmons must 
be given much weight, it appears necessary to question his conclu- 
sions both as to glacial polishing and as to glacial topography. 

The highly polished surface is in all respects as described by Em- 
mons, except that it is somewhat more extensive. The surface also 
bears evidence, in the details of its configuration, that the abrasive 
agent moved downward over it. There appears, however, to be 
nothing to distinguish this polished surface from the polished sur- 
faces ordinarily produced by faulting or from the polished surfaces 
observed in another part of the range, near Peavine ranch, where 
slickensiding is definitely proved by two such polished surfaces that 
are still in contact on opposite walls of a fault. Indeed the precise 
parallelism in the grooves of the surface described by Emmons sug- 
gests slickensides rather than glacial scour. 

The position of this polished surface is such as to render the theory 
of glaciation apparently untenable. Its position is comparable to 
that of the escarpment at the foot of the mountains shown in Plate 
IX, B (p. 44). To account for this polishing by glaciation it is nec- 
essary to postulate a huge ice sheet that overrode the entire side of 
the mountain, including the rugged front which is now so deeply 
and extensively dissected, that scoured the edge of the mountain at 
an angle of more than 45° with the horizontal, and that pushed 
into the valley to a level 6,000 feet or less above the sea. As the 
steep, jagged walls of the canyon of Santa Fe Creek were obviously 
not glaciated (see PI. 'V, A) it is necessary on this theory to assume 
that the canyon is postglacial. 

The undulating surface of the upper parts of the range is indeed in 
sharp contrast with the extremely rugged mountain front, but its 
topography exhibits mature erosion features rather than the cirques 
characteristic of mountain glaciation. Moreover, a contrast in topog- 
raphy would be produced by the existence of small glaciers that did 
not extend to the mouths of the canyon, not by the general glacia- 
tion that is required to account for the polished surface below the 
rugged zone. 

No cirques, moraines, glacial drift, or glacial striae were observed 
in the present investigation, but the mountains were not examined 
in sufficient detail to make this negative evidence conclusive, and it 
is possible that incipient glaciers formed in a few localities where 

1 Emmons, S. F., op. eit., p. 328. 



22 BIG SMOKY VALLEY. 

conditions were specially favorable. The evidence appears, however, 
to be adequate to prove that large glaciers did not exist. Both the 
polished surface and the contrast in topograi)hy can be satisfactorily 
explained by faulting, of which there is abundant evidence. 

FAULTING THEORY. 

The two types of topography that characterize the Toyabe Range 
can best be explained, in the opinion of the writer of this paper, by 
assuming two cycles of erosion. After the region had been exten- 
sively deformed, as explained by Emmons, it appears to have been 
subjected to stream erosion until it reached a stage of maturity, 
when its relief was still a few thousand feet but its surface was undu- 
lating rather than rugged and its stream courses occupied open val- 
leys rather than narrow canyons. Then — probably late in the Ter- 
tiary period — the mountain mass was lifted with reference to the 
area occupied by Big Smoky Valley and may have been tilted away 
from the valley area. The resulting escarpment was vigorously at- 
tacked by the streams, and thus the present youthful and precipitous 
topography has been developed on the front of the mountains, while 
the mature topography farther back has remained without much 
change. 

General faulting along the east side of the Toyabe Range is indi- 
cated by observed faults, as in the vicinity of Peavine ranch, by 
polished surfaces, such as that near Santa Fe Creek, and by an exten- 
sive system of escarpments at the foot of the mountains (PI. IX, ^, 
p. 44) and on the adjacent alluvial slope (PL I, in pocket, and PI. 
Ill, p. 18), bearing evidences of a fault origin as explained on pages 
44-45. The fact that scarps attributable to faulting were found only 
on the alluvial slopes adjacent to the two notably precipitous moun- 
tain fronts — those of the Toyabe Range and of Lone Mountain — is 
itself a strong indication that these fronts were produced by faulting. 

TOQUIMA RANGE. 

The Toquima Range, which is about 80 miles long, lies on the east 
side of Big Smoky VaUey, opposite the Toyabe Mountains, with which 
it merges at the north. Monitor VaUey, east of this range, and Ral- 
ston VaUey, southeast of it, are separated by a spur of the Toquima 
Range in the vicinity of Behnont. In the north the range is low and 
indefinite and bears only a httle scattered timber, but toward the 
south it increases in height and becomes a prominent range, although 
not so large as the Toyabe. A high mountam area cuhiimating m 
Jefferson Peak hes back of Round Mountain and gives rise to Jefferson 
and Shoshone creeks. Bald Mountain, north of Manhattan, is 9,275 
feet in altitude. 

The upper parts of this range have undulating topography, some- 
what similar to that of the upper areas of the Toyabe Mountains, but 



PHYSIOGEAPHY. 23 

the range does not have a steep front and no evidence was found of 
general faulting, either in the bedrocks or in the valley fill. 

SAN ANTONIO RANGE. 

The San Antonio Range is an irregular mountairi mass, about 30 
miles long, which lies south of the Toquima Range, from which it is 
separated by an open gap several miles wide. It separates Ralston 
VaUey on the east from Big Smoky and AlkaH Spring valleys on the 
west. It is somewhat lower, smaller, and more arid than the Toquima 
Range, and it decreases in general altitude toward the south. The 
highest point, which is near the north end, is about 8,500 feet above 
sea level. In the vicinity of Tonopah and farther south the range 
includes numerous more or less isolated and barren conical peaks. 

LONE MOUNTAIN. 

Lone Mountain constitutes a compact mountain mass at the south 
end of Big Smoky Valley. It has very precipitous slopes, especially 
on its north side, and, rising abruptly to an altitude of 9,114 feet 
above sea level, or about 4,400 feet above the alkali flat, it forms a 
conspicuous moimtain. A spur of lower hiUs and ridges extends 
northward to MOlers, and a large irregular mountain mass lies to the 
south, forming the divide between Clayton and Alkah Spring valleys, 
and for some mUes constituting the south boundary of the basin of 
Big Smoky Valley. Lone Mountain and the associated mountains 
are separated from the southern part of the San Antonio range by a 
low, open gap several miles wide, similar to the gap between the San 
Antonio and Toquima ranges. 

The Recent scarps at the north base of the mountain (PI. IX, B, 
p. 44) and on the adjacent alluvial slope (Pis. I and X, and pp. 
44-45) suggest that the steep north-facing front of this mountain 
has, hke the front of the Toyabe Range, been produced by uplift 
in late geologic time. 

SILVER PEAK RANGE. 

The Silver Peak Range is a wide and rather high mountain mass 
except near its north end, where it becomes a low, narrow ridge. It 
terminates Big Smoky VaUey on the southwest and separates this 
valley from Fish Lake VaUey, farther west. It also lies between 
Clayton and Fish Lake valleys. Only a narrow belt on the east side 
of the low northern part of the range drains into Big Smoky Valley. 

MONTE CRISTO RANGE. 

The Monte Cristo Range is an irregular mountain mass that lies 
northwest of the southern part of Big Smoky Valley and culminates 
in the southeast in a conspicuous peak 7,950 feet above sea level. 



24 BIG SMOKY VALLEY. 

The range presents an arid appearance and supports but little timbei'. 
North of the main range is an extensive arid upland area containmg 
many low ridges and hills and several wide and very dry debris-filled 
basins that were not examined. This upland extends northward 
almost to the south end of the Shoshone Range, the intervening gap 
forming the outlet of lone VaUey. 

SHOSHONE RANGE. 

The Shoshone Range hes on the east side of lone Valley but ex- 
tends far beyond the north end of this vaUey. It is a narrow but 
relatively lofty range, a considerable part of the crest line being more 
than 9,000 feet above sea level. The west slope is only about 3 miles 
wide and is cut by many short canyons that are normally dry but 
discharge their flood waters mto lone Valley. Near its south end this 
range coalesces with the Toyabe Range, forming a mountainous area 
that is more than 20 miles wide. About 210 square miles of this area 
drains into the lower valley, exclusive of the belt that drains into lone 
Valley. North of the divide the Reese River vaUey intervenes be- 
tween the Shoshone and Toyabe ranges. The lowest pomt in the 
divide is at the gap between the head of Cloverdale Creek and the 
depression known as Indian VaUey, where Reese River rises. 

ALLUVIAL FANS. 
RELATION OF FANS TO CANYONS. 

The vaUey is nearly surrounded by a mountain wall in which are 
cut innumerable notches of various sizes. Each notch is the mouth 
of a canyon — the portal through which a certain part of the mountain 
area makes its contributions to the vaUey, not only of the water that 
falls upon it as rain or snow but of the very substance of the moun- 
tains themselves. The water that is discharged at the surface or as 
underflow is the vehicle by means of which the transportation of tliis 
rock material is effected, the soluble matter being carried in solution, 
the fine particles of sand and clay held in suspension, and the pebbles 
and boulders roUed over the surface by the impact of the water. 
Only from the larger canyons are these contributions made contin- 
uously, most of the canyons being dormant the greater part of the 
time and becoming active contributors only at long intervals when 
freshets occur. The character and quantity of the contributions 
that the vaUey receives through these notches determine almost 
exclusively the shape of its surface, the distribution and capacity of 
its water-bearmg beds, the quantity, quahty, and level of its gi'ound 
water, the character of its soil and native vegetation, and the agri- 
cultural possibilities of its lands. 

At the mouth of each canyon is an alluvial fan, or debris cone, 
built of the materials contributed by the canyon. Each of these fans 



U. 8. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 



WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 423 PLATE V 




A. MOUTH OF SANTA FE CANYON. 
Showing absence of glacial features and presence of birch trees, which indicate water. 




B. TRANSPORTED GRANITE BOWLDER. 



PHYSIOGRAPHY. 25 

is or has been the greatly expanded streamway or flood plain of the 
stream that periodically flows from the canyon. The floor of the 
canyon and surface of the fan form parts of a single stream profile 
and are as closely adjusted to each other by the laws of stream 
gradation as the upper and lower courses of more ordinary streams. 
AU the fans have the same general form because they are produced 
under the same general conditions. Each has an apex at the mouth 
of the canyon, from which it extends downward in all directions 
except as it is limited by other land forms. In each the grade 
diminishes with distance from the apex, thus giving the fan a concave 
profile along a fine drawn from the apex in any direction in which 
the fan extends. In their size and in the shape of their concave 
profiles, however, the fans differ as widely as the canyons from which 
they are supphed. These differences are never haphazard but are 
determined by the sizes and gradients of the canyons, the volume 
and character of the floods which they discharge, and the quantity 
and nature of rock waste which the floods have to handle. 

As the canyons are not far apart their fans are crowded together 
and modified by each other. Many small fans are superimposed on 
the larger ones (see PI. VI), and fans of nearly equal size merge with 
each other in their middle and lower parts, forming a single smooth 
slope, a given point of which may receive sediments from two or 
more canyons. 

Where the contributing area is low and narrow the resulting fans 
are inconspicuous and are defhiitely terminated by the burial of 
their bases under the alluvium of large fans or under lake or playa 
deposits. This condition is well illustrated at Millers, where the 
outwash from a small area of low hiUs at the end of the spur extending 
northward from Lone Mountain has formed an insignificant debris 
slope extending from a short distance south of the railroad to the 
vicinity of the pumping plants. The base of the slope is a defuiite 
line, and beyond it extends a wide plain produced by the flood waters 
of large canyons to the north. 

Where the contributing area is narrow but steep and high, the fans 
are steep but short (PI. VI). The steep gradients of the canyons 
make the floods of such an area torrential and give them great 
carrying power, but owing to the shortness of the canyons the floods 
are of brief duration, and they lack sufficient volume to transport 
far into the valley the coarse rock waste which they bring to the 
mouths of the canyons. Like the fans of the type first mentioned, 
their bases are generally overlapped by alluvium from larger fans 
or by lake or playa deposits. A fan of this kind is impressive to 
anyone ascending it but appears insignificant when represented on a 
topographic map. A good example of a slope composed of such fans 
may be seen at the north base of the prominent ridge that extends 



26 BIG SMOKY VALLEY. 

northwest from Lone Mountain. Here the mountain rises 2,000 to 
3,000 feet in about the same horizontal distance, and although the 
mouths of the canyons are high above the valley the debris slopes 
are so precipitous that the alkali flat approaches within less than a 
quarter of a mile of the edge of the mountain. An almost equally 
good example of this type is in the vicinity of Seyler Peak, where the 
mountain rises 2,000 feet in about half a mile, and where a steep debris 
slope occupies a narrow belt between the mountain and a mud flat. 
In the vicinity of Moore's ranch there is a larger debris slope of 
the same type. Here the mountain rises a mile in a horizontal 
distance of a Uttle more than 2 miles, and the resulting debris slope, 
though wider than at Lone Mountain and Seyler Peak, is equally 
steep and more impressive. The fan shown in Plate VI is also of 
this character. It is supplied from a steep, short canyon that drains 
a part of the outer flank of Bunker Hill Peak. 

Very different are the large fans of gentle gradient produced at the 
mouths of the long canyons that head far back in the high mountains 
and, receiving the drainage of innumerable tributary canyons, form 
the outlets of extensive areas of high altitude and heavy precipitation. 
These canyons are much gentler in gradient but discharge floods of 
much greater volume and duration. The detritus brought out of 
the mountains through one of these canyons is not heaped about 
the mouth of the canyon but is spread widely, some of it being 
carried many miles into the valley. The result is a flattened and 
expanded fan over which one may travel for miles before realizing 
that he is on such a feature at all, which nevertheless required a vast 
amount of sediment for its construction, as is indicated by the 
topographic map, and which appears sufficiently impressive when 
viewed from its apex. Of this type are the fans of Twin Rivers and 
Kingston Canyon, as is clearly shown on the large map (PI. I). 
Each of these fans receives the contribution of about 35 square miles 
of mountain area, parts of which are more than 10,000 feet above 
sea level, and each radiates from its apex a distance of about 5 miles 
and would extend farther were it not interrupted by the ancient lake 
bed. Another fan of nearly equal magnitude is that of Jefferson and 
Shoshone creeks. 

Ranking between these large fans and the narrow steep debris 
slopes are a great number of fans of intermediate sizes and gi'adients 
which are generally built together to form continuous alluvial slopes 
of 'intermediate width and grade. North of Jefferson Creek are the 
fans of WiUow, Barker, Moore, Charnock, and Northumberland 
canyons, each rather large and built of the rock waste supplied by 
mountain areas of considerable extent. These fans coalesce with 
each other or are so united by smaUer intermediate fans that they 
form a single smooth, continuous slope rather than a series of distmct 



PHYSIOGRAPHY. 27 

physiographic features. The slope bordering the Toquima Range 
south of Jefferson and Shoshone creeks and the slope adjoining the 
San Antonio Range also afford examples of the intermediate coalescing 
types of fans. Another slope of the same kind is adjacent to the 
Toyabe Range south of the Twin Rivers fan. Thus between Twin 
Rivers and Seyler Peak are found alluvial slopes of three distinct 
types. The characteristics of each type and of their contributing 
mountain areas are shown on the map (PL I). 

The largest fan in the valley is that of Peavine Creek, but the area 
available for it is so restricted that it could not develop symmetrically, 
like the Twin Rivers and Kingston fans. . The contributing area of 
this great, misshapen fan includes more than 100 square miles of 
mountains with high average altitude, and it is therefore not surpris- 
ing that it is the controUing feature for 20 miles south from the point 
where Peavine Creek leaves the mountains, and that its influence on 
the topography can apparently be traced beyond Millers. 

Another expanded alluvial slope is that formed by Willow, Black- 
bird, Birch, and other canyons near the north end of the valley. 
This slope extends nearly to the east side of the valley and southward 
indefinitely. 

RELATION OF VALLEY AXIS TO FANS. 

As in most locahties the contributing mountain areas on opposite 
sides of the valley differ in size, the corresponding fans are likewise 
unequal, and the axis, or line of lowest depression, is not in the mid- 
dle of the valley but relatively far from the side on which the moun- 
tains are large and near the side on which the mountains are small. 
The largest mountains are not, however, aU on the same side, but are 
here on one side and there on the ojbher. Consequently the line of 
lowest depression is a sinuous line that keeps far away from the large 
mountains. 

Near the north end of the valley the axis, as shown by the medial 
draw, is close to the east side, because here the Toquima Range is low 
and has produced a low and narrow though steep alluvial slope which 
does not balance the extensive slope at the mouths of Willow, Black- 
bird, Birch, Santa Fe, and Kingston canyons. 

South of the Kingston fan the medial line of depression expands 
into a wide flat which for about 12 miles holds a position slightly 
nearer the west than the east side, this balance in favor of the east 
side being due to the increased prominence of the Toquima Range 
and the fact that the divide of the lofty Toyabe Range approaches 
within about 2 miles of the east margin of the range. 

For a distance of about 10 miles, from the vicinity of the Jones 
ranch to that of the Logan ranch, the Twin Rivers fan dominates the 
west side and crowds the medial flat about 6 miles from the Toyabe 



28 BIG SMOKY VALLEY. 

Range. This segment of the valley, however, also receives heavy- 
contributions from the east, especially from Moore Creek. The 
valley has here about the same Avidth as m the segment to the north, 
but its debris slopes are so much larger that its medial flat is notably 
contracted. 

Southward from the Twin Rivers fan the line of lowest depression is 
carried first near the west side, on account of the heavy discharge of 
Barker, Willow, Jefferson, and Shoshone creeks and the narrow con- 
tributing area back of the Darrough and Moore ranches; then near 
the middle, on accoimt of the approximate balance between the con- 
tributing mountain areas on the two sides, as shown on the map (PI. I) ; 
then gradually westward again as the contributing area on the west 
side becomes narrower, until, in the vicinity of Seyler Peak, the 
contributing area is only one-half mile wide and the asymmetry 
becomes pronounced. 

Peavine Creek emerges from the momi tains at a level so much lower 
than the smaller streamways that in the first 5 or 1 miles of its course 
through the valley it follows largely the line of depression estab- 
hshed by the small, steep fans on the opposite sides of the valley, 
which is here relatively narrow. Farther south, where it comes m 
competition with Cloverdale Creek and the drainage from lone Valley, 
its real importance as a contributor of rock waste becomes manifest, 
lone Valley occupies a basin of its own and has its own series of allu- 
vial fans on the opposite sides of its medial line of depression. The 
greater part of the rock waste supplied to it by its bordering mountain 
areas no doubt underlies these fans, but the broad drainage channel 
which leads through the gap at Black Sprmg shows that some of this 
rock waste has been carried mto Big Smoky Valley. The contri- 
butions of Peavine Creek are, however, so much greater than the 
combined contributions of Cloverdale Creek and lone Valley that the 
channel which conducts the drainage from these two is not only 
crowded near the west side of Big Smoky Valley, but is to some 
extent impounded, as is shown by the existence of small flats north- 
west of Midway station. (See PI. I.) 

South of Midway station the storm waters of Peavine Creek and 
lone Valley mingle to some extent and follow the same general 
course along the broad indefinite medial depression. Still farther 
south the medial depression expands into a large flat which in most 
places is at a considerable distance from the mpuntain bordere but 
comes close to parts of Lone Mountain that have very narrow con- 
tributing areas and also to the spur of the Monte Cristo Range at 
the Desert Well. 

The dominating influence in the lower valley of the material brought 
in by its northern tributaries — Peavine and Cloverdale creeks and 



PHYSIOGEAPHY. 29 

lone Valley — is shown by the position of the large flat that occupies 
the lowest depression in the valley. This flat has been crowded 
into the southwest comer of the lower valley by the great quantity 
of rock waste poured into the valley from the north. 

ALLUVIAL DIVIDES. 

If the axis, or medial line of depression, is regarded as passing 
through the flats that occupy the lowest levels of the upper and 
lower valleys, respectively, and as extending without interruption 
from the north to the south end of Big Smoky Valley, it will be seen 
that the vertical projection of this line consists in general of two 
sections that are concave upward, between which there is a section 
that is convex. The convex section is in the narrow segment of 
the valley that lies between the southern parts of the Toyabe 
and Toquima ranges, and is, of course, at the parting of the waters 
between the upper and the lower valley. This alluvial divide 
apparently owes its existence primarily to the fact that the two 
ranges come close together in a region where both are large and 
liigh. The divide is not on the fan of Peavine Creek and probably 
that creek has never discharged into the upper valley. It may, 
however, have had an influence in holding back the rock waste in 
the vicinity of the divide by aggrading the valley farther south. 
The Tertiary sediments in* the vicinity of San Antonio may have 
had a similar effect. The weU-developed sh^-e features (PI. I, in 
pocket) that are found at lower levels in the upper vaUey show that 
this divide is older than the lakes of the Pleistocene period. 

The most important departure from concavity in either of the two 
end sections is in the vicinity of the Chamock and Rogers beaches 
(PI. I), where the heavy gravel embankments extending across the 
axis of the vaUey form a divide that separates the dramage south 
of these beaches from the drainage north of them. The Daniels 
beach was not examined at every point but- apparently it also forms 
a divide which debars the northern surface waters from' the main 
flat. 

The alluvial divide between Big Smoky VaUey and Alkali Spring 
VaUey is of the same nature as the one between the two parts of Big 
Smoky VaUey. Several of the other low gaps are of the same general 
character except that the Tertiary sedimentary beds are more largely 
involved. 

SHORE FEATURES. 
THE TWO ANCIENT LAKES. 

< Big Smoky VaUey once contained two large lakes, of which one 
occupied the lowest parts of the upper vaUey and the other the 
lowest parts of the lower vaUey (PI. I, in pocket). For convenience 



30 BIG SMOKY VALLEY. 

in referring to these lakes it is desirable that they should be given 
names. The ancient lake in the upper valley may appropriately be 
called Lake Toyabe, and the one in the lower valley, Lake Tonopah. 
The surface of both lakes fluctuated and stood at various levels. 
There is no evidence that either lake had an outlet, even at its highest 
level, and it is therefore inferred that the water of both was salty. 

Lake Toyabe, when at its highest level, was about 40 miles long, 
9 miles in maximum width, and covered an area of approximately 
225 square mUes, or 18 per cent of the drainage basin in which it 
lay. Its maximum depth was about 170 feet, and its shore Hne, 
which, so far as was determined, is still horizontal, stood a short 
distance above the present 5,600-foot contour and measured about 
85 miles in length. The maximum depth of the part of this lake 
that lay south of the present road to Chamock Pass was only about 
70 feet. When the surface of the water went down the lake divided 
into two parts which were completely separated by an isthmus just 
south of the Charnock Pass road, the relatively large northern water 
body covering the large flat east of Millett and the smaller body 
occupying the depression which now holds Moore Lake (PI. I). 

Lake Tonopah, when at its highest level, was about 22 miles long, 
5| miles in maximum width, and approximately 85 square miles in 
area, or only about two-fifths the area of Lake Toyabe. This area 
was only 4.2 per cent of the total drainage basin tributary to the 
lake — a percentage less than one-fourth as great as that of Lake 
Toyabe. The maximum depth of Lake Tonopah was about 70 feet, 
and its highest shore line stood a httle below the present 4,800-foot 
contour, or about 825 feet below that of Lake Toyabe. The total 
length of the Lake Tonopah shore line is estimated at 53 miles. 

The existence of these ancient lakes and the dimensions given in 
the foregoing paragraphs are deduced from the shore features which 
were formed by the waves and currents of the lakes and which are 
still in existence. These shore features consist almost entirely of 
gravelly beaches and beach ridges, or embankments, many of which 
are very defiaite structures that can be followed for a number of 
miles, the largest attaining heights of nearly 50 feet (PL I and fig. 2, 
profiles A to G) . To f acihtate the description and discussion of these 
featiures the principal ones have been named the Schmidtlein, Minium, 
Vigus, Daniels, Spaulding, Charnock, Rogers, Gendron, MiUett, and 
Logan beach systems being recognized on the bed of Lake Toyabe, 
and the Railroad, Alpine, Desert Well, and French Well beach 
systems on the bed of Lake Tonopah (PL I). These names do not 
apply to specific lake stages but to the most conspicuous beach 
structures, some of which are composites of beaches that were 
functional at several different water levels. 



PHYSIOGRAPHY. 



31 



The existence of Lake Toyabe is indicated on the large map in 
Russell's monograph on Lake Lahontan, ^ but no mention is made of 
it in that monograph, nor in any other literature that was searched 
in the preparation of the present paper. No mention of beaches in 









"tT 


""T M- 


2 


iu2 ^ 


^ 











Horizontal scale 

J/2 



3/4 



Vertical scale 

100 100 FEET 

I I I I J I 

FiGUEE 2.— Profiles across beaches and beach ridges in Big Smoky Valley. A, Spaulding beach system 
near the southeast comer of sec. 8, T. 14 N., R. 44 E. ; B, Minium beach system and the spit at the Daniels 
ranch along road between Daniels and Schmidtlein ranches; C, Chamock beach system along road 
between Chamock Spriags and Chamock Pass; D, Chamock beach system ui the locahty of its greatest 
development— south of Chamock Springs; E, Chamock beach system along Moore Creek road, on or 
near NE. J sec. 18, T. 12 N., R. 44 E.; F, Rogers beach system in its middle part and the Recent beaches 
at the north end of Moore Lake; G, RaUroad beach system 2 miles west of McLeans. 

the lower valley was found in any of the literature except by Free 
(p. 16), although a part of the area containing conspicuous and well- 
formed beach ridges is covered by a detailed geologic map.^ 

1 Russell, I. C, Geological history of Lake Lahontan, a Quaternary lake of northwestern Nevada: U. S. 
Geol. Survey Mon. 11, pi. 46, 1885. 

2 Spurr, J. E., Ore deposits of the Silver Peak quadrangle, Nev.: U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 55, 1906. 



32 BIG SMOKY VALLEY. 

SHORE FEATUHES OF LAKE TOYABE. 

Spaulding heaches. — The mainf eature of the Spaulding beach system 
is a gravelly ridge that extends from near the middle of the east shore 
line of Lake Toyabe, in a north-northwest direction for a distance of 
about 7 miles, and ends as a spit at a point north of the Spaulding salt 
marsh, not far from the west shore of the ancient lake (PL I). This 
ridge extends boldly across the lakebed but should perhaps be regarded 
as the outermost of a series of beaches at the north end of the ancient 
lake. It is most prominent in its middle part. On sec. 8, T. 14 N., 
R. 44 E., where it was measured, it is more than three-fom-ths mUe 
wide and about 45 feet high and has the rather complex form shown 
in figure 2, A. Southeast of the locahty at which this profile was made 
the ridge first widens and then becomes smaller and less distinct, gradu- 
ally assuming the character of an expanded gravelly beach surface 
that extends with a gentle slope from the highest shore line nearly 
to the flat. A short distance northwest of the locafity represented in 
figure 2 the ridge diminishes to a width of about one-fom'th mile and 
a height of only about 5 feet. Thence it extends northwestward for 
nearly 3 miles, as a low but distinct feature, to the north side of the 
salt marsh, where it ends. 

The crest of this ridge does not maintain a uniform altitude. At 
the locahty represented in figure 2 it is approximately level with the 
top of the beach ridge at the Daniels ranch but distinctly lower than 
the highest shore line; farther northwest it drops to a level con- 
siderably below that of the Daniels ranch. 

Daniels heacTies. — The Daniels beach system consists of three limbs 
that form a sort of zigzag (PI. I). The main part is a prominent gravelly 
ridge that trends west-northwest and belongs to the series of beaches 
at the north end of the lake, being next in succession to the Spauld- 
ing beach. This ridge becomes indefmite at both ends where it 
approaches the shore, but throughout most of its extent it is a very 
distinct feature and holds a nearly straight course. South of the 
Daniels ranch it is nearly a quarter of a mile wide and about 15 feet 
high. 

Near its east end the ridge sphts ; the north prong continues a short 
distance in approximately the same direction as that of the main 
ridge, and ends in an area of sand dunes; the south prong extends 
almost due south a distance of about 1 -| miles to the mainland, where 
a steep, gravelly beach surface slopes from the highest shore line 
down to the flat, through a vertical range of more than 50 feet. 
About a mile farther northeast a small but distinct beach was 
observed at the highest shore line, about 50 feet above the main ridge 
of the Daniels beach system. 

From a point near the west end of the main ridge another gravelly 
ridge zigzags back with an east-northeast trend parallel to that of the 



PHYSIOGRAPHY. 33 

west shore line (PI. I). This ridge forms a distinct, symmetrical spit, 
at the abrupt, rounded end of which is situated the Daniels ranch. 

Vigus heacTi. — The Vigus beach is in sec. 7, T. 15 N., R, 45 E., and 
sec. 12, T. 15 N., R. 44 E. (PL I), and is next in the series to the 
Daniels beaches. It stands at a somewhat higher level than the main 
Daniels beach, its top being not much below the level of the highest 
shore line. It is a gravelly ridge, slightly arched in ground plan, 
about 2 miles long, one-tenth mile wide, and 10 feet high. 'At its 
east end it is interrupted by a streamway cut by flood waters from 
the north. 

Minium beaches. — Next in the series to the Vigus beach is the 
Minium beach system, which is separated from the Vigus beach by 
a flat only a little more than one-fourth mUe wide (PI. I). Its trend 
is in general east-northwest, with a slight S-shaped flexure, and it 
can be traced as a distinct feature through a distance of somewhat 
more than 4 miles. It is best developed in its middle part, where it 
forms a gravelly ridge from one-fourth to one-half mile wide and 20 
to 25 feet high. Toward the southwest it loses its character as a 
ridge and becomes a gravelly beach extending lakeward from the 
highest shore line. Farther southwest this beach diminishes in 
prominence. At its intersection with the road leading from the 
Daniels ranch to Schmidtlein's ranch it is a conspicuous feature, its 
top being about 40 feet higher than the top of the ridge at the Daniels 
ranch, as is shown in figure 2, B; at its intersection with the Kingston 
road it is smaller but stiU distinct; and at its intersection with the 
Bowman road it is too indistinct to be definitely located. The 
Minium beach extends as a definite but gradually diminishing ridge 
northeastward from the locahty of maximum development to a point 
nearly one-half mile north of the middle of the Vigus beach, where it 
ends as a spit. 

Sclimidtlein leaches. — ^The Schmidtlein beach system begins about 
4 miles northeast of the Minium spit and extends northward about 
2i miles. It is crossed near its south end by the road leading from 
the Daniels ranch to the Spencer Hot Springs (PI. I). In its southern 
part its character is that of an inner beach and it has no definite 
southward limit, but toward the north it bifurcates, forming two 
ridges 10 to 15 feet high, both of which end abruptly as spits. The 
eastern ridge, which is the larger, extends nearly due north approxi- 
mately parallel with the shore; the somewhat smaller western limb 
takes a more northwesterly course and extends into the lake. 

One and one-half miles north of Schmidtlein's ranch, along the 
main road on the west side of the valley, there are several small low 
ridges that appear to be shore features at the head of the GiUman 
Spring embayxnent of the ancient lake. 

46979°— wsp 423—17^—3 



34 BIG SMOKY VALLEY. 

CTiamock teaches, — The Chamock, like the other large systems, is 
not a single beach representing one water level, but a composite of 
several strands at different stages of the lake. It is in a sense the 
comiterpart of the Spaulding beach system, for it lies on the south- 
east side of the main flat just as the Spaulding system Ues on the 
northeast side, and its distal part, ending as a spit, may be regarded 
as the outermost of the south-end beach ridges, just as the Spaulding 
embarjsment is regarded as the outermost of the north-end beach 
ridges. As in the Spaulding system, the ridge or ridges are attached 
to the east shore, where they become parts of a gravelly beach surface 
that slopes downward from the highest shore line (PL I). 

A feeble high-level strand practically connects the Spaulding with 
the Charnock system. In the vicinity of Charnock Springs the shore 
eatures gradually strengthen and increase in complexity toward the 
south. Opposite the northernmost springs there is only a single, 
small, built terrace somewhat more than 150 feet above the flat, but 
along the road between the springs and Charnock Pass there is the 
more complex profile shown in figure 2, C. A heavy inner beach which 
marks the highest water level is here associated with two parallel 
ridges at levels about 30 and 50 feet lower, respectively. Farther 
south the belt of shore features widens and consists of a series of 
terraces with slight ridges at their outer edges. A composite and not 
quite accurate profile of this series of terraces is shown in figure 2, D. 

The innermost beach, which marks the highest water level of the 
ancient lake, and a parallel beach 25 feet lower swing southward, 
and where they cross the Moore Creek road they have the profile 
shown in figure 2, E. South of the road they are interrupted, probably 
by recent deposition of sediments on the fan of Moore Creek, and 
farther south (in sec. 19) the shore fine is represented by a single 
smaU beach that fades out toward the south. This beach is about 
70 feet above the level of Moore Lake and presumably represents the 
highest water level. 

The lower terraces maintaia a southwest trend, and after diverging 
from the shore line they form a broad low iddge that ends in the middle 
of the lake bed as a spit with a blunt, rounded end (PI. I). 

Rogers heaches. — ^A short distance south of the spit formed by the 
Chamock beaches and separated from it by alkah flat and sand dunes 
is the Rogers beach system. 

It extends with a nearly east-west course across the lake bed in the 
locaHty where the latter is constricted between the Twui River and 
Moore Creek fans, but is deflected northward at both ends. At one 
time it formed an isthmus that connected the two fans and separated 
the waters of Lake Toyabe into two disconnected lakes. It was 
functional as a beach on both sides, but its chief development seems 
to have been as a beach at the north end of the southern lake, now 



PHYSIOGRAPHY. 35 

represented by the small intermittent body of water designated on 
the map as Moore Lake. 

In its middle part, shown in figure 2, F, it consists of a ridge more than 
one-fourth mile wide, standing about 35 feet above the level of Moore 
Lake and, as nearly as could be determined, about 35 feet below the 
highest shore line. Toward the east it is flanked by sand dunes but 
appears to end as a spit; toward the west it increases in size and 
height and then disintegrates into several small ridges, somewhat as is 
shown in Plate I. 

Gendron and MiUett teaches. — ^The large Spaulding and Chamock 
beaches flank the lowest depression of the ancient lake bed on the 
northeast and southeast sides but no beaches of corresponding 
magnitude were formed on the west side. Small ridges are, however, 
found along a considerable part of the western shore line, some of 
them indistinct but others very definite. 

Three of the best developed beach ridges on the west side are west of 
Mrs. Alice Gendron's ranch and are parallel, or concentric, with each 
other (PI. I). The outermost, or lakeward ridge, which lies one- 
fourth mile west of the ranch, is about 75 feet above the level of the 
flat due east. The middle ridge, which lies three-tenths mile nearer 
the shore, is longer and larger, and its crest is about 25 feet higher. 
Where the road leading west from Mrs. Gendron's ranch crosses this 
ridge it is about 50 feet wide at the top, and stands 10 to 15 feet above 
the general surface on the east side and 5 to 10 feet above the general 
surface on the west side. The inner ridge is one-fourth mile farther 
west and is also well developed. 

Small or indistinct shore features are found on the steep slope west of 
Millett and the Jones ranch and between the latter and the Rogers 
ranch. They probably connect with the fingers of the Rogers beach 
system. Deposition on the Twin River fan has to some extent 
obliterated the shore features built upon it. 

Logan teach. — ^The name Logan beach is applied to a poorly devel- 
oped beach that extends along the west shore line for several miles 
but becomes unrecognizable south of the Darrough Hot Springs. 
From the elevation of the observed shore features it is inferred that 
the ancient lake at its highest stage extended southward nearly to 
Wood's ranch, but no shore features were found near the south end. 

SHORE FEATURES OF LAKE TONOPAH. 

Railroad teaches. — ^A series of concentric beaches and beach- 
ridges encircles the west end of Lake Tonopah. It extends without 
interruption along the main railroad from McLeans nearly to Blair 
Junction; thence, with a great, graceful curve, it crosses the branch 
railroad and swings southward to the "salt well," and thence, turn- 
ing eastward, it recrosses the branch line, and extends to a locahty 



36 BIG SMOKY VALLEY. 

about 5 miles east of this railroad, where it fades out. Thus this 
beach system persists as a distract and conspicuous feature through 
a distance of about 18 miles. Because the railroads run close to it 
through most of its course and for want of a better name, the name 
Railroad beach is appHed to this dominant shore feature of Lake 
Tonopah. 

South of Blair Junction the beach system includes one conspicuous 
gravelly ridge. A short distance east of the branch raihoad tliis 
ridge was found to be 10 to 15 feet high on the inner side and 25 feet 
or more on its outer side. From the ridge, which m this locahty is 
more than one-fourth mile wide, a gravelly beach slopes downward an 
indefinite distance toward the flat. 

In the vicmity of the "salt well" the ridge sphts into two distinct 
but smaller, concentric ridges, the outer or lakeward ridge being tied 
to the rock butte that is a short distance northeast of the ''salt well." 
These ridges are about one-tenth mile wide and 10 feet high where 
they cross the railroad but dimmish in size farther east. At several 
points they are broken by postlacustruie stream channels. Plate 
XI, A (p. 60), shows the exposed section on the banks of a stream 
channel cut through the outer beach, as indicated by the interruption 
shown on the map (PI. I) a short distance southwest of bench mark 
4,766. The ridge is here only 5 feet high and about 250 feet wide, 
and exhibits the gentle outer slope and a comparatively steep inner 
slope characteristic of beach ridges. 

From a locality a short distance east of the branch railroad to 
McLeans the shore features are well developed, but differ somewhat 
in character from those on the west and southwest sides of the lake 
bed. The shore zone, which is nearly a mile in average width, has 
a range in altitude of fully 50 feet. It is strewn throughout with 
beach gravel but includes several nearly parallel ridges that were 
functional at different stages of the lake. Three or four of these 
ridges were distinguished, but their relations were not fully deter- 
mined. 

At milepost 33, two miles west of McLeans, the gravelly shore zone 
is about three-fourths mile wide, and its profile is approximately that 
shown in figure 2, G. The outermost beach is here a small ridge one- 
half mile south of the railroad and only a short distance above the 
level of the flat. Between it and the railroad there is a more promi- 
nent ridge that stands at a higher level and is about one-fifth mile 
wide. The inner beach is not well defined in this locality but ap- 
pears to lie a short distance north of the railroad. Farther west two 
ridges seem to intervene between the highest shore line and the promi- 
nent ridge at milepost 33. One of these crosses the wagon road one- 
tenth mile north of the railroad at a point one-third mile east of 
milepost 29, or about 2 miles east of Blair Junction. The other 



PHYSIOGEAPHY. 37 

passes a little more than one-eighth mile south of Blair Junction and 
crosses the main railroad at an acute angle just west of milepost 28, 
or about one-half mile east of Blair Junction. 

Near McLeans the beach shows a slight tendency to protrude as a 
spit that forms the counterpart of the Alpine spit on the opposite side 
of the lake bed. This spit is, however, a double feature. One prong 
projects directly south of the station; the other is a mile farther west. 
Between the two prongs is a broad streamway that apparently existed 
at the time the ridges were being built. Its waters seem to have 
been effective in modifying the work of the waves by merging the 
ridges and deflecting them outward, as shown on the map (PI. I). In 
the angle formed by the main ridge and the embankment that borders 
the streamway is a depressed area which has no drainage outlet and 
which must have formed a small lagoon at the time the lake existed. 

Alpine heaches. — The Alpine beach system comprises a group of 
short but conspicuous ridges on the south side of the lake bed, oppo- 
site McLeans (PI. I). The outer beach consists of a V-shaped em- 
bankment, from the point of which a spit extends lakeward. At the 
junction of the two limbs the feature is nearly one-fourth mile wide 
and approximately 35 feet high on the north side. The southern 
limb is a gracefully curving ridge about 25 feet in maximum height, 
but diminishing in size toward the shore until, in the course of less 
than a mile, it disappears entirely. The inner ridge is a distinct fea- 
ture for about a mile. Where it has its maximum development it is 
about one-tenth mile wide, 10 feet high on the inner side, and 25 feet 
high on the outer side. It stands considerably higher than the 
V-shaped embankment and apparently a little higher than McLeans. 

The south limb of the V-shaped embankment and the south side 
of the spit constituted a beach that bordered the deepest part of the 
lake at a stage when the shallower part farther east was much smaller 
than is shown in Plate I. The east limb and the north side of the 
spit were at the same time functional as a beach borderuig the 
shallower eastern water body. The two parts of the lake were at 
this time connected by a strait 1 J miles wide. The protrudmg char- 
acter of this feature is perhaps due partly to the great amount of 
gravel carried into the lake by large arroyos on both sides of the spit. 

Desert Well heacJi. — The Desert Well beach is hi some degree a con- 
tinuation of the railroad beach system. The main beach contours 
the shore a short distance north of the well and just north of the 
little black butte situated one-fourth mile west of the well. This 
butte was in a position where it was exposed to the full force of the 
waves, and although it is composed of hard rock, the rugged escarp- 
ment on its south side was apparently formed by wave cutting. The 
butte is tied to the main beach by a heavy accumulation of beach 
gravel, as shown in Plate I. 



38 BIG SMOKY VALLEY. 

French Well beaches. — ^About 2| miles north of the French Well, 
near the northern shore Ime of the ancient lake, at its highest level, 
are two well-defined gravelly ridges. The outer ridge is about a mile 
long, nearly one-tenth mile wide, and 5 to 10 feet high; the inner lies 
about one-half mile farther north and is approximately 250 feet 
wide and 5 feet high. These are the only distinct shore features that 
were observed east of the Alpine and Desert Well beaches. As at the 
two ends of Lake Toyabe, the very gentle slope of the lake bottom 
and the shallowness of the water were apparently not favorable for 
the development of beaches. Such small beaches as were foimed 
have been covered with sediments deposited by postlacustrine floods. 

ORIGIN or SHORE FEATURES. 

The principal factors that influenced the size, shape, and position 
of the shore features on the two ancient lake beds of Big Smoky 
Valley are the slope of the lake bottom, the depth of water in the 
different parts of the lakes, the fluctuations in water level, the sources 
of the beach material, the prevailing direction of the winds, especially 
the storm winds, and the resulting direction of lake currents. 

The type of ancient shore features foimd in a desert valley depends 
largely on the height to which the valley was fiUed with water. The 
lakes of this valley, even at their highest stages, did not extend far 
up the alluvial slopes. Hence the water was shallow for considerable 
distances out from the shore, and the energy of the waves and shore 
currents was spent in transporting and arranging the rock waste, 
with which the shores were abundantly supplied, rather than in 
cutting back into the land. Wave cutting apparently took place 
on the exposed rock of the black butte just west of the Desert Well 
and on the valley fiU in several locahties, especially on the east side 
of Lake Toyabe, but it was unimportant as compared with the con- 
structional work represented in the large embankments that have 
been described. 

Where the water was shallow shore features did not develop to 
any important extent, probably because the waves did not attain suffi- 
cient size and force. Thus at the two ends of Lake Toyabe and in 
the shallow water of the northwest end of Lake Tonopah shore 
features were not observed. The deepest parts of both Lake Toyabe 
and Lake Tonopah were, however, partly inclosed by large beaches 
and beach ridges. The extensive bodies of shallow water back of 
these beaches were in the nature of lagoons, and they contain only 
a few small shore features. 

The beaches and beach ridges that follow the highest shore line or 
run parallel to it were formed by the combined action of the waves 
and shore currents at various stages of the lake. The broad sloping 
beach surfaces, in some places extending through a vertical range of 



PHYSIOGRAPHY. 



39 



more than 50 feet, were not formed at any single water level but 
developed at different horizons as the surface of the lake slowly rose 
and fell. The ridges were the outer, or barrier, beaches, and those 
at distinctly different levels were formed at different stages of the 
lake. 

A few of the largest ridges were, however, not formed parallel to 
the shore but extended boldly across the lake and attained heights 
of 20 to 50 feet. The most conspicuous example of this type is the 
Spaulding Ridge. These great embankments were evidently built by 
currents that diverged from the shore, as explained by Gilbert ^ and 
Russell.^ They were probably built at different times by currents 
set in motion by storm winds from different directions. 

The following tables show the prevailing directions of the wind at 
Millett (Jones ranch) and at Tonopah, respectively, and give some 
clue as to the direction of prevailing storm winds that swept the 

ancient lakes : 

Prevailing direction of wind at Millett. 



Year. 


Jan. 


Feb. 


Mar. 


Apr. 


May. 


June. 


July. 


Aug. 


Sept. 


Oct. 


Nov. 


De«. 


1910 


S. 

s. 
s. 

s. 


N. 
S. 

w. 


S. 
S. 
S. 
W. 


S. 

w. 

s. 
s. 


W. 

S. 

w. 
w. 


W. 

s. 
'"s."' 


W. 
W. 

S. 

s. 


W. 
S. 

w. 

s. 


S. 

s. 
s. 


s. 
s. 
s. 
w. 


S. 
S. 

w. 

S. 


N. 


1911 


N. 


1912 


N. 


1913 


S. 






Prevailing direction of wind at Tonopah. 


Year. 


Jan. 


Feb. 


Mar. 


Apr. 


May. 


June. 


July. 


Aug. 


Sept. 


Oct. 


Nov. 


Dee. 


1910 


SE. 
SE. 
SE. 
SE. 


NW. 
SE. 
W. 
SE. 


SE. 
SE. 
SE. 
W. 


SE. 
NW. 
SE. 
SE. 


NW. 
SE. 
NW. 
NW. 


W. 
SE. 
SE. 
W. 


SE. 

W. 

SE. 


W. 

SE. 
SE. 
SE. 


SE. 
SE. 
SE. 
SE. 


SE. 
SE. 
SE. 
W. 


SE. 
W. 
SE. 
SE. 


W. 


1911 


W. 


1912 


W. 


1913 


SE. 







The Minium' and Vigus ridges and a part of the Daniels beach 
system were apparently built by currents that moved northward 
along the west shore of the lake but eventually set out across the 
lake, the divergence from the shore probably having been caused 
by the angle in the shore line and the shaUowing of the water oppo- 
site the Kingston fan. The materials of which these ridges were 
constructed were supplied from Kingston Canyon and several can- 
yons farther south. The Vigus Eidge may also have received contri- 
butions from the east side. The Rogers beach ridge appears to 
have been constructed in large part by a current that likewise moved 
northward along the west shore but that was deflected across the 
lake in the vicinity of the Twin River fan. It is built out of the 

1 Gilbert, G. K., The topographic features of lake shores: U. S. Geol. Survey Fifth Ann. Kept., pp. 
85-101, 1885. 

2 Russell, I. C, Geological history of Lake Lahontan, a Quaternary lake of northwestern Nevada: U. S. 
Geol. Survey Mon. 11, pp. 87-124, 1885. 



40 BIG SMOKY VALLEY. 

abundant sediments furnished by the Twin Rivers. Like the north- 
em embankments, its principal functional beach was on the south 
side. 

The Chamock, Spaulding, and Schmidtlein beach ridges and a 
part at least of the Daniels beach system are attached to the east 
shore and were evidently built by a different set of currents. A 
strong west wind acting without obstruction across the maki part 
of Lake Toyabe, 9 miles wide and 170 feet deep, was no doubt effec- 
tive in thrusting large waves against the east shore and also in pro- 
ducing a slow eastward motion in the water. When this slow, gen- 
eral current reached the east shore it was presumably deflected to 
the right or to the left, according as the wind was northwesterly or 
southwesterly, and continued as a more restricted and, therefore, 
swifter shore current. Where these currents reached projecting 
angles in the shore line or shallow water they were apparently de- 
flected from the shore and built the projecting part of the Charnock 
beach system, the eastern limb of the Daniels beach system, and 
the long, large embankment of the Spaulding beach system. 

The ridges of Lake Tonopah were produced chiefly by shore cur- 
rents, but the spits at McLeans and on the opposite side of the lake 
were developed by o^rents that diverged from the shore. These 
currents probably came from opposite directions at different times 
and their deflection was probably due chiefly to the large quantities 
of sediment furnished by the arroyos on both sides and the resulting 
angles m the shore line. The embankment extending westward 
from the butte near the Desert Well indicates that the east winds 
were most effective in that locality. 

LAKE STAGES. 

The complex profiles of the larger beach systems, as shown in 
figure 2, A to G, are the result of fluctuations in the water level of 
the ancient lakes, the ridges and terraces at distinctly different levels 
having been formed at different lake stages. Several levels at which 
the lake stood long enough to construct definite shore features were 
recognized, but the elevations of the various features were not 
instrumentally determined. The whole subject of lake stages is 
rendered obscure by the fact that the lake stood at all intermediate 
levels and did a certain amount of work at these intermediate levels; 
also by the fact that there are no exposures in the shore structures 
that give a clue to the order of events. 

Some of the largest features of Lake Toyabe are 35 to 50 feet below 
the highest strand and seem to represent a somewhat persistent 
water level. To this class belong the main parts of the Daniels and 
Spaulding beach systems, a prominent terrace of the Charnock 
system, and a part of the Rogers system. Minor fluctuations at this 
general level are indicated by the small ridges superimposed on the 



PHYSIOGEAPHYc 41 

main part of the Spaulding embankment (fig. 2, A) . A strand inter- 
mediate in altitude between this general level and the highest shore 
line is indicated by the terraces in the vicinity of the Chamock 
Springs (fig. 2, C, D, and E), and perhaps by the Vigus beach and other 
features a short distance below the level of the highest strand. 
Lower stages of the lake are indicated by the two lowest terraces 
south of Charnock Springs (fig. 2, D), the terrace on the north flank of 
the Spaulding embankment (fig. 2, A), and the low spit that extends 
beyond the main part of this embankment. In Lake Tonopah at 
least two or three lake levels can be identified. 

The tiny strand that surrounds the small modern lake, shown on 
the map as Moore Lake, shows in a striking manner the radical 
difference between the large lakes of the Pleistocene epoch and their 
insignificant modern remnants. The contrast is shown in figure 2, F, 
which represents a locahty where the modern strand is superimposed 
on the edge of one of the large, ancient features. The strand of 
Moore Lake consists at its north end of an inner beach, which, at the 
time the lake was examined, stood 600 feet from the water's edge 
and 9 feet above the water level, and an outer beach, consisting of a 
ridge 1 or 2 feet high, 125 feet nearer the water and at a level 
about 4 or 5 feet lower. This double shore feature can be traced 
ar.ound the east and west sides of the lake bed but is indistinct on the 
south side. The beach on the lakeward side of the ridge is extended 
to accommodate the lake at different levels but practically disap- 
pears some distance out, where levels are reached that represent a 
very small and shallow body of water. Although this pond is not 
generally filled to the level of the encircling ridge, it has, neverthe- 
less, built a definite and relatively permanent structure at this level, 
and has formed no shore feature at a lower level except a uniformly 
sloping beach. The larger lakes of the Pleistocene epoch apparently 
had the same habit of forming definite features at certain levels, 
although they were constantly fluctuating. The inner strand of 
Moore Lake, which is 4 or 5 feet higher than the ridge, is probably 
functional under only exceptional conditions. 

POSTLACUSTRINE CHANGES. 

The shore features have not been much changed since the ancient 
lakes disappeared. In many places the gravelly ridges seem to be 
almost without modification. In only a few places have the shore 
features been cut by gullies. The principal changes have been pro- 
duced by aggradation on the large fans, where the shore features 
have been, to a great extent, buried under sediments deposited by 
the streams. Small beaches at both ends of Lake Toyabe and at 
the northeast end of Lake Tonopah have no doubt been thus buried, 
and the lower parts of even some of the large ridges may be buried 
beneath considerable recently deposited material. 



42 BIG SMOKY VALLEY. 

PLAYAS. 
GENEEAL FEATTJEES. 

Many of the desert valleys have no drainage outlets, either because 
their surface waters have not accumulated in sufficient quantities to 
OTerflow and cut through the bamers produced by deformation of 
the rock formations or because these waters have themselves built 
barriers by depositing aUuvium, In such valleys the flood waters 
that are not lost in their descent over the fans are impounded in the 
lowest parts of the vaUeys, from which they are removed almost 
exclusively by evaporation. Even in the valleys that have outlets 
the drainage may be partly or temporarily obstructed. 

The impounded flood waters are always roily and on evaporation 
deposit fine sediments. This process of aggradation is as character- 
istic of the desert, valleys a^ the aggradation on alluvial fans thi'ough 
deposition by running waters, and it produces as distinct a type of 
land surface. The running waters form surfaces with gi'ades, whereas 
the impounded waters form surfaces that approximate horizontal 
planes. (See PI. VH.) 

These constructional flats, often called playas, are formed in part 
by thin temporary sheets of water such as are occasionally spread 
over the lowest parts of Big Smoky Valley at the present time and in 
part by permanent lakes such as occupied these low tracts in the 
Pleistocene epoch. The flatness of the lake bottoms is no doubt in a 
measure due to the deposition by thin sheets before and after the lakes 
existed. The margins of the flats differ according to the existence 
or nonexistence of an ancient lake. Where there has been no lake of 
appreciable depth the alluvial fans extend to the flat, the grade com- 
monly becoming so gentle in the lower parts of the fans that the 
limits of the flat can not be sharply drawn and the casual observer 
may think he is still on the flat when in fact he is ascending the lower' 
part of a fan. It is only where the bases of short, steep fans are 
buried under sediments derived from larger fans that there is a sharp 
hne of demarcation between the fan and the flat of this origin. Where 
a lake of considerable depth existed a shore zone borders the flat, 
occupying the parts of the fans that were submerged. Locally the 
surface of this zone has been formed by wave erosion, but more com- 
monly on the lake bottoms of the desert valleys it is a zone of excep- 
tional aggradation because the streams of flood water were suddenly 
checked when they reached the lake and therefore deposited near the 
shore theu' entu'e load of rock waste except the fine sediments that 
remained long in suspension. Even where definite deltas and beach 
ridges were not formed the shore zone generally shows a convexity 
in profile, and a new cycle of erosion can often be seen starting on the 
relatively steep lakeward slope. 





in*: 




i-V " 






y^'. . 





•,^- 



r^ 



U. 6. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 



WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 423 PLATE VIII 




A. PLAYA AND MOUNDS IN LOWER BIG SMOKY VALLEY. 




'^-.^*»«<«^^ 








B, SAME WHEN FLOODED. 



PHYSIOGRAPHY. 43 

The fiats of the desert valleys are typically barren, as is the large 
playa east of MiUett, the intermittent submergence of the dense and 
generally alkahne soil being a condition to which no plant species is 
able fuUy to adapt itself; but in many places they support consider- 
able vegetation, commonly in isolated clumps, as on a large part of 
the playa of the lower valley both east and west of McLeans. Many 
of the flats are kept moist by capillary rise of ground water, as the 
MiUett and McLeans playas, but others He far above the water table, 
as the playa in Alkah Spring Valley. In some places they are covered 
with incrustations of salt, as at the Spaulding Salt Marsh, but they 
may contain no unusual amounts of soluble matter. The essential 
characteristic of the playas is one of topography — they are flat sur- 
faces produced by deposition from impounded waters. They are 
not, however, absolutely level, and in some places they are inter- 
rupted by dunes or wind-formed mounds, by mounds built by springs, 
or by gulUes cut'by exceptional floods. 

PLAYAS IN THE UPPER VALLEY. 

The principal flats in Big Smoky Valley are found in the depres- 
sions occupied by the two ancient lakes. The largest is the Millett 
flat, which Ues between the Daniels and Charnock beaches and occu- 
pies the central part of the ancient lake bed. It is nearly 15 miles 
long, and in the vicinity of Millett and the Jones ranch it is fully 6 
miles wide. Over a large part of this area it is moist, alkahne, barren 
of vegetation, and monotonous and desolate in aspect. South of the 
Rogers beach ridge and extending toward Wood's ranch is another 
large flat that is in general covered with vegetation except at the 
north end, where its waters accumulate in the rather definite depres- 
sion of Moore Lake. Like the Miflett flat it is wet and alkahne. 
North of the Daniels beach system a flat, interrupted by the Vigus 
and Minium ridges, extends for many miles as a moist, alkahne sur- 
face supporting an irregular growth of vegetation. Northward it 
gradually merges into the gentle slope of the large fans at the north 
end of the valley. 

The foUowing information was furnished by F. J. Jones: On July 
17, 1915, when the streams were near their highest stages, about 
1,000 acres of the ^lillett flat was submerged, but in some years when 
there is heavier snowfall the submerged area expands to several thou- 
sand acres, reaching its maximum from June 15 to July 1. Moore 
Lake has not been dry for eight years, but earher it was dry for a long 
time. A wet summer was the cause of its filhng up eight years ago. 
The area of the lake in June, 1915, was estimated at 1,000 acres. 

PLAYAS IN THE LOWER VALLEY. 

The main flat in the lower valley occupies the depression extend- 
ing from the vicinity of the French well southwestward to the Silver 



44 BIG SMOKY VALLEY. 

Peak Kailroad. It is interrupted by sand dunes and by numerous 
mounds covered by greasewood and other bushes (PI. VIII, A and B). 
Throughout considerable areas it is entirely barren and in some 
places it is very wet and alkaline. Northeastward it merges msen- 
sibly with the long, gentle alluvial slope over which the waters from 
the north are discharged. In the vicinity of Millers and farther 
north the gradient of this slope is so slight that there are small areas 
of partial impounding which are flat and barren but not alkaline 
nor wet except after floods. Similar small flats, conspicuous for 
long distances because of their smooth, bare surfaces, are found 
along the axis of the valley between Cloverdale and Midway station 
(PI. I). North of Peavine Creek is an area whose flood waters are 
partly impounded by the deposits of this creek, although a definite 
streamway skirting the eastern margin of the Peavme fan allows 
some of the water to escape southward. This area has to some 
extent the character of a playa, though it does not show indications 
of alkali or of shallow ground water (see PI. I). 

FAULT SCARPS. 

East of the Toyabe Range and north and northwest of Lone 
Mountain there are numerous conspicuous escarpments which face 
the valley and are believed to be due to recent faulting. Some of 
these escarpments are at the edges of the mountains and appear, to 
have been produced by the valley fill slipping down from its contact 
with the rock formation (see PL IX, A and B), but most of them 
extend across the alluvial fans approximately parallel with the 
edges of the mountains (see Pis. Ill and X). In some locaHties 
there is only a single escarpment, but in others there are two or three 
parallel to each other. The maximum height is more than 200 feet, 
but in most places it is much less. The escarpments west of Bow- 
man's, Mrs. Gendron's, and McLeod's ranches are made conspicuous 
by green bands of buffalo-berry bushes, greasewood, rabbit brush, 
wild roses, sagebrush, and salt grass supported by springs and seeps 
that issue from the escarpments. The large, distinct escarpments 
are shown on the map, Plate I (in pocket). That these features 
were produced by faulting is mdicated by several lines of evidence: 

1. They lack the distinctive characteristics of shore features and 
they are found far above the levels at which there is any evidence or 
reasonable presumption of ancient strands. Neither do they have the 
characteristics of stream-cut or stream-built features or of features 
that could well have been formed by any known agency except 
faultmg. They have, however, the broken profile that character- 
izes fault scarps, and they appear to be similar to the features in 
various parts of the Great Basin that have been described by Gilbert * 
and others as fault scarps. 

1 Gilbert, G. K., Lake Bonneville : U. S. Geol. Survey Mon. 1, pp. 340-362, 1890. 



U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 



WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 423 PLATE IX 




A. FAULT SCARP AT FOOT OF LONE MOUNTAIN. 




B. FAULT SCARP AT FOOT OF TOYABE RANGE. 



PHYSIOGRAPHY. 45 

2 . They are not found in all parts of the valley but only on the 
alluvial slopes adjacent to the two ranges which present especially 
steep fronts such as are commonly attributed in the Great Basin to 
block faultmg. In the Toyabe Range some direct evidence of fault- 
ing was also found. 

3. The sprmgs to which some of the escarpments give rise, though 
not furnishmg conclusive evidence, suggest a fault origm, for it has 
been demonstrated that faults displacing valley fill may produce 
underground barriers that raise the water level.^ 

4. The exposed parts of the blocks that form a few of the escarp- 
ments, particularly between Carsley and Blue Spring creeks and 
south of Black Bird Canyon, consist of bedrock overlain with valley 
fill which has a graded surface similar to that of the alluvial slopes 
below the escarpments. This is a condition that indicates displace- 
ment and is difficult to explam on any other theory. 

A few of the escarpments at the lowest levels, as the one west of 
Mrs. Gendron's ranch, are near the highest shore features and may 
at one time have formed a part of the shore luie. No conclusive 
evidence was fomid as to the relative ages of the fault scarps and 
the shore features, but the great difference in the amount of stream 
erosion by which these two groups of features are affected indicates 
that the fault scarps are m general older than the shore features. 

STREAMWAYS. 

The lower parts of the alluvial fans are stUl generally in process of 
being built up by stream deposition but the upper parts of most of 
the large fans are trenched by deep and broad stream valleys. These 
trenched surfaces, Hke the shore features, are no longer in process of 
construction, as are the flats and the undissected parts of the fans. 

There is evidence that the stream trenching is caused to only a 
moderate extent by the normal development of the gradation cycle 
and is due more largely to faulting and climatic changes and to other 
agencies not well understood. 

Trenched streamways are commonly found in the upper parts of 
the alluvial slopes of desert basins and may result from the normal 
processes of erosion and aggradation. The large canyons with 
relatively great and long-contiaued discharge have been cut deeper 
than the small canyons with meager discharge and hence they 
emerge from the mountains at lower levels. Consequently the 
floods from the large canyons can keep open an avenue of escape 
only by sweeping away the debris piled in their courses by the waters 
from the smaU canyons. This condition accounts in part for the 
trenching by Kingston Creek shown in Plate VI (p. 25). Moreover, 

1 Clark, W. O., Grouad-water resources of the Niles cone and adjacent areas, California: U. S. Geol. 
Survey Water-Supply Paper 345, pp. 127-168, 1915. 



46 



BIG SMOKY VALLEY, 



as the mountains are worn down and the canyons are cut deeper 
the streams generally emerge from their rock canyons at lower 
levels and therefore sink their channels into the upper parts of the 
slopes which they themselves built at an earlier stage. 

Where the profile of a fan is broken by faulting the stream grade 
is thrown out of adjustment, and dissection of the upthrow side is to 

be expected. On the alluvial 
slope adjacent to the Toyabe 
Range a very noticeable re- 
lation exists between fault- 
ing and stream trenching. 
This relation is especially 
well shown in the vicinity of 
Blue Spring Creek (see PI. 
Ill, p. 18) and in the vicinity 
of Spanish, Lynch, and Tarr 
creeks. The alluvial fan of 
Santa Fe Creek is not crossed 
by any fault scarp, but there 
is evidence in this vicinity of comparatively recent displacement along 
the edge of the mountains whereby the mountain block was raised 
with reference to the valley (p. 22). The fan, which is below the 
fault, is not dissected, but the canyon above the fault has at its 
bottom a steep-walled notch about 15 feet deep and 15 feet wide 
that may have been cut as a result of the uplift (see fig. 3). It may 
also be significant 




FiGUKE 3. — Profile of Santa Fe Canyon near its mouth, 
showing recently cut notch (approximate). 




that this canyon 
differs from most of 
the others in having 
so little rock waste 
that the stream 
flows over bedrock. 
Deposition is al- 
ways taking place 
in some part of a 
closed basin, but 
the zone of depo- 
sition changes with 
the climate and with 
other conditions. In a humid epoch the floods from a given canyon 
are larger and of longer duration than in an arid epoch; hence the 
profile of the alluvial fan is longer and less steep, that is, the short 
steep fan built in the arid epoch is dissected in its upper part, and 
the eroded material, if not discharged into a lake, is deposited at 
the base of the old fan. The broad-bottomed arroyos that dissect the 



Figure 4.— Sketch map of axial part of valley 4 J miles south-southwest 
of Cloverdale, at junction of lone and Cloverdale draws. 



PHYSIOGKAPHY. 



47 



upper and middle parts of most of the large fans were probably 

formed in large part during the humid lake epoch. There does 

not appear to have been general erosion in these draws in recent 

times, although recently cut gullies can be found in many places, 

as on the Peavine fan from Peavine ranch 

nearly to Midway, and in the lone Draw in 55 

the vicinity of Warm Spring. The accumu- 1 

lation of rock waste in the lower parts of f 

most of the canyons may be due to the loss 3 

of transporting capacity by the streams in g 

the present arid epoch. §"• 

The draw through which the flood waters o 
of lone Valley are discharged is of especial §. 
interest because it is shown by its topography -g 
to be an ancient channel that was excavated ^ 
at a time when more water had to be accom- | 
modated than at present. This ancient chan- ^ 
nel follows the axis of the wide, open valley "g 
that leads from lone Valley to the main part I" 
of Big Smoky Valley (PI. I), the axis here be- | 
ing crowded near the south side by the large, g" 
Cloverdale fan. As shown by figures 4 and 5 | 
this channel averages fully 50 feet in depth I 
and nearly one-haK mile in width. That it is 2. 
larger than is required for the discharge of o 
recent floods is shown by the small alluvial a 
fans that have been built up on its floor by ■? 
tributary guUies and draws. Although it dis- o 
appears before reaching the bed of the ancient 5' 
Lake Tonopah there can be no reasonable | 
doubt that it was excavated to its large di- g 
mensions during the humid epoch when the g 
lake existed, and that the Httle fans have been 5 
formed in postlacustrine times when the floods ^ 
have been too small and infrequent to keep g 
the entire channel open. 2, 

The canyons in the vicinity of Charnock B 
Pass open into a stream valley which is nearly g 
200 feet deep but which diminishes rapidly in p 
depth with the distance from the mountains ^ 
and disappears entirely before it reaches the 

lower part of the alluvial slope. No escarpments were seen on this 
slope and the trenching is so much deeper than is usual under similar 
conditions that it can not well be explained as the result of normal 
development or climatic changes. However, no adequate explanation 
of the extensive stream cutting was found. 



48 BIG SMOKY VALLEY. 

DUNES AND WIND-FORMED MOUNDS. 

Sand dunes are found in several localities in both the upper and 
the lower valley,. (PI. I, in pocket), but they are not so abundant 
as might be expected from the large amount of sandy soil that exists 
in the region. 

In the upper valley dunes are found along the eastern margin of the 
ancient lake bottom. One group lies a short distance northeast of 
the Vigus beach ridge on the east side of the road leadhig from the 
Spencer Hot Springs to the Daniels ranch; another group hes at the 
east end of the Daniels beach system; and a few small dmies are found 
near the Vigus ranch. Dunes covermg larger areas are found south- 
west of the Charnock Springs on both sides of the road leading from 
Rogers ranch to the Monitor Valley. Those south of this road border 
the eastern part of the Rogers beach ridge and extend southward on 
the east side of Moore Lake, forming a belt about 4 miles long and 
including the largest wind-built structures in the upper valley. Small 
sand hills are also found between the Barker and Crowell ranches. 

In the lower valley dunes are found on or near the ancient lake bed 
and in a number of places farther north. A belt of large dunes hes on 
the south side of the playa and extends several miles in both dh'ec- 
tions from the road leading from McLeans to Alpine, and areas of 
smaller dunes are found on the north side of the playa west of this 
road and along the road leading from McLeans to the Desert Well. 
Large dunes are found in the vicinity of Millers Pond and along the 
margin of the playa farther south, and indefinite accumulations of 
wind-blown sand, imperfectly shown on the map (PI. I) are scattered 
over an extensive area between McLeans and Millers. Only a few 
small dunes are found near the west end of the ancient lake bed. 
Farther north deposits of wind-borne material occur between Tonopah 
and Liberty, in the vicinity of San Antonio, and on the west side of the 
vaUey. The large dunes between Tonopah and Liberty were not 
seen at close range, but hills several hundred feet high appear from a 
distance to be entirely wind built. The dune areas in the vicinity of 
San Antonio comprise a belt of sand hiUs lying south of the springs 
and extending southwestward a distance of several miles and also 
groups of smaller sand hills extending along the axis of the valley 
from San Antonio to a point about 4 miles north. 

Sand dunes have been formed on the shores of both modern and 
ancient lakes, generally to the leeward of the prevailing storm winds. 
The dunes in the northern part of Big Smoky VaUey are on the east 
side of the lake bed, more or less closely associated with the east ends 
of the large transverse beach ridges, the largest being found northeast 
of what was once the southern water body of the ancient Lake Toyabe. 
The position of these dunes therefore indicates prevaihng westerly or 
southwesterly winds, agreeing with the evidence furnished by the 



PHYSIOGRAPHY. 49 

shore features and by the Weather Bureau records at Millett (p. 65). 
The dunes associated with the bed of Lake Tonopah are chiefly on the 
eastern and southern parts of the lake bed, suggesting prevaihng 
westerly and northerly winds, but they are not confined to these parts, 
and, like the shore features of this lake, they do not give decisive 
evidence of any great predominance in the winds from any direction. 
No records of the direction of the wind in this part of the valley are at 
hand. At Tonopah the prevailing winds are from the southeast, but 
westerly and northwesterly winds are also reported. The dunes north 
of Tonopah and in the vicinity of San Antonio are not related to 
either of the ancient lakes. 

On the bed of Lake Tonopah there are sand deposits of very differ- 
ent ages. Fresh dunes that support httle vegetation and are actively 
migrating with the wind are superimposed on older ones that have 
been extensively eroded except where they are protected by vegeta- 
tion. These striking differences probably do not indicate any definite 
sequence of events but rather illustrate the capricious activity of the 
wind. At present the wind is at work almost incessantly. Sand was 
seen drifting at 10 o'clock in the morning following a storm in the 
night in which at least an inch of rain fell and the flat was submerged. 

In many places the playas, especiaUy the large playa in the lower 
valley, contain mounds of sandy material overgrown with big grease- 
wood {Sarcohatus vermiculatus) or other bushes (PI. VIII, A and B). 
These mounds are generally rather symmetrical, and they may attain 
considerable size, as is shown by the illustrations. They owe their 
existence and growth to the combined action of wind and vegetation. 
The vegetation, by breaking the wind, induces deposition of wind- 
borne materials while it prevents erosion by the wind. In Big 
Smoky Valley there has not been much erosion of the flats by the 
wind, and the mounds appear to have been produced chiefly by 
deposition. A mound may have its origin in a single alkaH-resistant 
bush which is able to estabhsh itself on the flat. This bush, by 
acting as a windbreak, and accumulating a httle wind-borne material, 
produces conditions that are favorable for plant growth in its immedi- 
ate vicinity. It does this by providing a less dense, less alkaline, and 
better drained soil than that of the flat, and by providing some immu- 
nity from iniuidation. Thus the accumulation of soil induces plant 
growth, and plant growth induces further accumulation of soil, until 
mounds are developed that furnish a very different environment for 
plants than the flat furnishes. 

The porous but moderately alkahne soil, with its immunity from 
inundation but close proximity to a perpetual water supply, furnishes 
conditions that are particularly agreeable to the big greasewood, and 
this bush has therefore won over aU competitors on these island-hke 
mounds, although hardier bushes may have been required to start the 
mounds. 

46979°— wsp 423—17 4 



50 



BIG SMOKY VALLEY, 



SPRING TERRACES AND MOUNDS. 

The largest topographic feature produced by spruigs m this valley is 
at the Spencer Hot Springs, which are 6 miles east of Spencer's ranch 
and a short distance north of the road leadhig from Austin to Potts 
(PL I) . Here a terrace nearly a mile long and m some places half a 
mile wide borders the low mountain ridges at the edge of the valley 
(fig. 6). This terrace, composed largely of travertme, or calcareous 
tufa, is about 25 feet high at its outer margin, whence its surface 
ascends toward the mountain border. On this surface are several 
spring-built, tufaceous mounds and ridges (fig. 6) which are about 
25 feet high and give the entire structure a rehef of about 100 feet. 

The material 
forming the ter- 
race and mounds 
was not, how- 
ever, all deposit- 
ed by the spring 
waters, some of 
it having been 
washed from the 
ridges and some 
blown from the 
desert. 

Spring-built 
mounds are 
found also in a 
few places on 
the Millett flat, 
the most impor- 




ra ^ ES lii- 



m 



ii-avertuie "VaUejrfill lava aad tuff Granitic rock limestone Spring 

FiGUEE 6.— Map of the vicinity of the Spencer Hot Springs. 



tant locality being at the Charnock Springs, where a typical mound 
from which water was oozmg and supporting a growth of grass meas- 
ured 200 feet in length and 8 feet in height. 

BUTTE S. 

In the lower vaUey the smooth surface produced by stream aggra- 
dation is in a number of places interrupted by hills or ridges of rock 
that project abruptly from the valley fill and form conspicuous land- 
marks. The character of these hills and ridges is determined larg-cly 
by the kind of rock composing them. Many of the outcrops of the 
soft Tertiary strata form only low inconspicuous mounds or produce 
practically no modification of the topography of the alluvial fans. 

In the upper vaUey no hills or ridges of bedrock project above the 
smooth surface formed by the valley fill. 



BIG SMOKY VALLEY. 51 

GEOLOGY. 

PALEOZOIC SEDrMENTARY AND METAMOBPHIC ROCKS. 

Limestone, slate, schist, and quartzite aggregating several thousand 
feet in thickness and ranging in age from lower Cambrian to Car- 
boniferous, are the oldest rocks that have been found in this region. 
They have been studied chiefly by Emmons in the Toyabe Range 
and by Turner in the Silver Peak Range, but no detailed section of 
them has yet been made. They belong for the most part to the Cam- 
brian and Carboniferous systems but are known to include rocks that 
contain Ordovician fossils and may include Silurian and Devonian 
strata. Although they have a wide range in age no unconformity 
has been discovered between successive formations. Since their 
deposition they have been extensively deformed, eroded, intruded by 
lavas, and largely covered by igneous bodies and sedimentary 
deposits. Originally they probably covered the entire region but at 
present they are found over extensive areas only in the Toyabe, 
Toquima, Silver Peak, and Lone Mountain ranges. 

In the Toyabe Range the Paleozoic sedimentary rocks lie at the 
surface over most of the area between Birch Creek and Carsley 
Creek and outcrop in a part of the area farther south. They border 
the valley in the vicinity of Pablo and Wall creeks but are com- 
pletely concealed under volcanic rocks near the south end of the 
range. Emmons has shown that they have a complex structure but 
in a broad way form large folds with a general north-south strike. 

In the Toquima Range Paleozoic rocks, chiefly slate and limestone, 
are at the surface over an extensive area from a mile or two north of 
Central to and beyond Willow Spring. These rocks also outcrop exten- 
sively in the northern half of the range and appear in small outcrops 
in the central part. In the vicinity of Charnock Pass several thousand 
feet of slate is exposed; it dips northeast at angles ranging from almost 
vertical near the valley to less than 45° at the igneous contact 2 miles 
farther east. 

In the San Antonio Mountains the Paleozoic strata appear in a few 
small outcrops, but are in most localities displaced or covered by 
igneous masses. At Tonopah Spurr reports fragments of limestone, 
quartzite, and granite in volcanic breccias.^ Complexly folded and 
faulted limestone, slate, and quartzite of Cambrian and Ordovician 
age form the core of that part of the Silver Peak Range which borders 
Big Smoky VaUey and also outcrops in parts of Lone Mountain that 
are tributary to this valley.^ 

1 Spurr, J. E., Geology of the Tonopah mining district, Nev.: U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 42, p. 30, 
1905. 

2 Spurr, J. E., Ore deposits of the Silver Peak quadrangle, Nev.: U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 55, pp. 
17-19, pi. 1, 1906. 



52 BIG SMOKY VALLEY. 

GRANITIC ROCKS. 

Several great bodies of granitic rocks are found in this region. 
Wherever their relations have been determined they are intrusive 
in the Paleozoic strata but older than the Tertiary eruptive rocks. 
Five granite bodies were described by Emmons in the Toyabe Range, 
four of which he partly in this drainage basin.^ Granite is exposed 
over a large area north of Birch Creek and outcrops extensively 
from Bowman's ranch to beyond Wood's ranch. A large granite 
mass occupies the lofty central part of the Toquima Range, particu- 
larly in the region back of Round Mountain. Another large granite 
mass forms the main part of Lone Mountain, and granite also out- 
crops in the ridges farther southwest. 

TERTIARY ERUPTIVE ROCKS. 

Eruptive formations, consisting of rhyolite and minor amounts of 
basalt and rocks of intermediate composition with associated tuffs 
and breccias, are exposed over extensive areas in all of the ranges 
bordering Big Smoky Valley. They he at the sm-f ace m all or nearly 
all of the Shoshone Range tributary to this valley, in the southern part 
of the Toyabe Range and in other localities in this range, in large parts 
of the Toquima Range from the north to the south end, in much the 
greater part of the San Antonio and Monte Cristo ranges and the 
hill country north of the Monte Cristo Range, and in considerable 
areas in the Silver Peak and Lone Mountain ranges. 

These rocks comprise a series of extrusive sheets and connected 
dikes and necks. They differ widely in age but all were probably 
formed during the Tertiary period. In Clayton Valley, just south 
of Big Smoky Valley, there is Quaternary basalt, but, in so far as 
could be ascertained, the igneous rocks of the drainage basin of Big 
Smoky Valley are all pre-Quaternary. In the Tonopah district 
Spurr studied in detail a comphcated series of volcanic formations, 
aU of which, he concluded, were probably erupted between the early 
Miocene and some time in the first half of the Pliocene epoch. The 
oldest rocks in the Tonopah series are two bodies of andesite, above 
which are dacite, dacite breccia, and rhyohte-dacite. Above these 
are the Siebert tuffs, which consist mainly of lake beds composed of 
volcanic fragments, and above the Siebert tuffs there are sheets of 
basalt, rhyohte, dacite, and rhyolite-dacite.^ Parts of this series 
were seen in various localities in the region under consideration. 
The tuff outcrops extensively in nearly aU parts of the south basin 
but is generally absent in the north basin. It is weU developed 
in the San Antonio and Monte Cristo ranges and near the south end 

1 Emmons, S. F., Geology of the Toyabe Range: U. S. Geol. Expl. 40th Par. Rept., vol. 3, pp. 320-348, 1870. 

2 Spurr, J. E., Geology of the Tonopah mining district, Nev.: U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 42, pp. 
31-72, 1905. 



GEOLOGY. 53 

of the Toyabe and Shoshone ranges. In some places it is overlain 
by heavy beds of rhyoHte or allied rocks, in others by sheets of basalt. 
North of Cloverdale about 500 feet of tuff is exposed and is intruded 
and overlain by a great mass of acidic lava, which shows near the 
contact the platy and glassy textures and other interesting character- 
istics observed by Spurr in the Tonopah district.^ Other good ex- 
posures are found near the Peavine ranch, where the tuff lies between 
thick beds of acidic lavas that have been extensively faulted, pro- 
ducing beautifully fluted shckensides. In a number of places near 
these two ranches the tuff is overlain by basalt, and basalt is also 
abundant in the Monte Cristo Range. The extent of erosion on most 
of the basalt indicates that this rock is younger than the other lava 
beds of the region, but much older than the Quaternary basalt of 
Clayton VaUey. 

TERTIARY SEDIMENTARY ROCKS. 

Tertiary sedimentary deposits are well developed in the southwest 
corner of the drainage basin of Big Smoky Valley and in adjacent 
areas draining into Columbus and Clayton valleys, where they have 
been studied in considerable detail by Turner, who named them the 
Esmeralda formation.^ The following description by Spurr of these 
deposits in the Silver Peak quadrangle is based chiefly on Turner's 
work.^ 

The Tertiary deposits flank the edges of the mountains and underlie, in part at 
least, the Pleistocene veneer of the valleys. On account of folding and faulting since 
their deposition they arch upward along the sides of the mountains, although according 
to Mr. Tmner they have not been found within 2,500 feet of the highest elevations. 
They consist of soft shales, sandstones, marls, tuffs, volcanic breccias, etc., with 
interbedded layers of andesitic and rhyolitic lava. The thickness of the whole accu- 
mulation is very likely several thousand feet. This mass has not yet been satisfac- 
torily differentiated into separate members, but it undoubtedly contains materials 
deposited under widely varying conditions. Som.e of the beds are lake sediments; 
some appear to have been deposited in running water and were probably distributed 
by stream action. Others bear the marks of dry, subaerial origin. Also there is 
probably a great range in the period of deposition, as will be presently shown from a 
consideration of the fossil evidence. It is probable that practically the whole Tertiary, 
from the Eocene through the Pliocene, is represented. In short, it is probable that 
the beds are the record of the whole period of Tertiary sedimentation, beginning -with 
the period when the Nevada land mass ceased to have free drainage to the ocean, at 
the close of the Cretaceous,* through the whole of the climatically changing but in 
general arid Tertiary period, when the material eroded from the mountains was 
accumulated in the valleys, in lakes, or in subaerial sheets, down through the Phocene. 

1 Spurr, J. E., Geology of the Tonopah mining district, Nev.: U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 42, 
pp. 46, 47, 1905. 

2 Turner, H. W., The Esmeralda formation, a fresh-water lake deposit: U. S. Geol. Survey Twenty- 
first Ann. Rept., pt. 2, pp. 191-226, 1900. 

3 Spurr, J. E., Ore deposits of the Silver Peak quadrangle, Nov.: U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 
55, p. 19, 1906. 

* Spurr, J. E., Origin and structure of the Basin ranges: Geol. Soc. America Bull., vol. 12, p. 249, 1901. 



54 BIG SMOKY VALLEY. 

A section of these deposits along the lines C-D, E-F, F-G, and 
H-I, shown on Plate I, was made by Turner, who makes the following 
explanation : ^ 

No continuous section of the entire formation was found, but an attempt was made 
to estimate the approximate thickness of the beds. They dip nearly everywhere at 
angles varying from 5° to 60° from the horizontal and are broken by numerous small 
faults, so that often a layer followed along the strike is found to offset from 10 to 100 
feet or more every few hundred feet. However, in the section at the coal mine (C-D, 
PI. I) and in the zigzag section of the beds east of the south end of Big Smoky Valley 
(E-F, F-G, and H-I, PL I), all of the sections being run at approximately right angles 
to the strike of the beds, no evidence of repetition by faulting or folding was found, 
and the estimate may therefore be taken as having an approximate value, subject to 
later revision when better sections of the formation are found elsewhere. 

The section thus obtained is given in condensed form, in downward 
succession, in the following table, and is showTi graphically in figure 7, 
prepared by Turner. His comment on the section is as follows i^ 

The thickness of 14,800 feet of beds, as given in this estimate, seems incredible, 
although it may represent all of Miocene and Pliocene time, inasmuch as all the fossils 
that have any value in determining the age were found at the base of the formation. 
The field evidence of the occurrence of the basalt flows of the region, such as that 
capping the Monocline in Clayton Valley and supposed to represent the top of the 
section, certainly suggests for them a Pliocene age, for these basalt flows nearly every- 
where cap mesas and seem to be the latest of the lavas, excepting only the basaltic 
eruptions, that built up the finely preserved crater in Clayton Valley, which is 
clearly of Pleistocene age. The depth below the siurface of the basement complex 
on which the bed rests and the angle at which the lake beds rest on this complex are, 
of course, entirely unknown. In all probabihty the rocks underlying section C-D 
are vertical slates and cherts of the lower Silurian, since these beds outcrop not far 
to the west. 

Section of the Esmeralda formation.^ 

[ByH. W. Turner.] 

Upper beds exposed in the Monocline: Feet. 

White pumice and basalt 150 

Section I to H: 

I^acustral marls 1, 300 

Breccia beds 1, 000 

Sandstones and shales 800 

Section G to F: 

Sandstones and shales 1, 300 

Breccia beds , 1, 300 

Sandstones and shales 1, 600 

■ Section F to E : 

Breccia beds mth intercalated layers of sandstone 900 

Sandstone, shales, and lacustral marls; fossil fishes in middle 
and upper parts 4, 200 

Section D to C: 

Sandstone with some shale, containing abundant fossil leaves 

with some shells and fish bones 1, 100 

Sandstone and shales, with a layer containing abundant fossil 

gastropods 900 

Coal seam with overlying shale bed containing leaves. 

Contorted sandstones and shales 250 

1 Turner, H. W., op. cit., 199. 2 Idem, p. 202. ^ idem, pp. 200-202. 



GEOLOGY. 



55 



The Tertiary strata are best developed in the foot- 
hill region southwest of Lone Mountain, and in the 
region west and southwest of Blair Junction, in 
which regions Turner's sections were made. They 
are, however, found widely distributed in the ranges 
bordering the lower valley, and either outcrop or lie 
near the surface over extensive areas in the marginal 
parts of the lower valley and in lone VaUey. 

They are found at the surface m various parts of 
the Monte Cristo Eange, and at or near the surface 
in extensive valley areas adjacent to these moun- 
tains; they outcrop in the hills south of Millers, in 
the vicinity of Tonopah, and in the San Antonio 
Mountams north of Tonopah, and are below the 
surface in parts of the valley adjacent to the south- 
ern part of the San Antonio Mountains ; they under- 
he the slope southeast of San Antonio and out- 
crop in some of the hills between San Antonio and 
Liberty; they outcrop extensively in the southern 
parts of the Toyabe and Shoshone ranges and m the 
detached hills south of these ranges; they consti- 
tute the surface formation in most of the constricted 
area where lone Valley discharges into Big Smoky 
Valley; and they lie below a thin mantle of detrital 
material in a large part of lone Valley and outcrop 
in several localities on the west side of that vaUey. 

They do not habitually form conspicuous buttes 
or ridges in the valley, as do the harder rocks, but 
generally lie nearly at the vaUey surface and are 
exposed only in low gravelly mounds or on the side 
of gullies cut into the valley surface. In most 
places in the valley the exposures are so poor that 
the dip of the beds can not be ascertained, and in 
many places it is difficult to determine whether the 
outcrops are Tertiary strata or valley fill derived 
from these strata. For these reasons the bomidaries 
of the rock outcrops are very unsatisfactorily shown 
on Plate I in the localities where Tertiary sedi- 
ments are found. Some conspicuous buttes and 
ridges have, however, been formed where hard 
strata project above the general valley level; for 
example, the little butte on the south side of the 
road leading from Millers to Crow Spring, and some 
of the hiUs west and southwest of Blair Junction. 



^;i^Lj# FAULT 



56 BIG SMOKY VALLEY. 

The sediments in Turner's section are largely of volcanic origin, 
and in many of the outcrops farther east and north they consist 
almost entirely of volcanic tuffs interbedded with thick sheets of 
lava. In the vicinity of Tonopah they are represented by lake beds, 
known as the Siebert tuff, composed chiefly of volcanic derivatives. 
In the southeTn part of the Toyabe and Shoshone ranges they are 
composed essentially of volcanic fragments which, in many places, 
are almost unstratified and grade into true volcanic rock. 

In the vicinity of Tonopah the Siebert tuffs include a bed of white 
diatomaceous earth composed of fresh-water diatoms of Miocene or 
possibly later age. A bed of diatomaceous earth, with lenses of 
chert, also outcrops at a nmnber of places at the base of a cliff of 
volcanic rock on the south side of the gulch southwest of Crow 
Spring, where it dips southeast. Parts of this bed contain very 
pure, white, fine-grained diatomaceous materials of low specific 
gravity, in places laminated and evidently waterlaid. In October, 
1913, a number of prospect holes had been opened along the outcrop, 
but none of the material had been marketed. 

The Tertiary strata have been faulted into blocks which were 
tilted in various directions. At Tonopah they dip in general west- 
ward at angles averaging about 20°.^ Farther north m the San 
Antonio Kange they dip in the opposite direction. Along the road 
from Peavine to Cloverdale, near the junction with the road from the 
east, they dip 30° S. In the hills west of Crow Spring and 
Kane's weU they dip westward, but southwest of the spring they dip 
southeastward. In the vicinity of the coal mines (section C-D, 
fig. 7) they generally dip 20° to 45° in a direction east of north; in 
most of the hills west of the ''salt weU" they have only sUght dips 
but locally they were seen to dip 60° SW. In the region 
between the Silver Peak Railroad and Lone Mountain they generally 
dip southeast at angles ranging from only a few degrees to about 60°.^ 

The Tertiary beds he near the surface in much of the marginal 
part of the lower Big Smoky Valley but are apparently buried to 
considerable depths along the central axis. In some places there is a 
sharp structural unconformity between the Tertiary beds and the 
overlying Quaternary deposits, but generally the contact is not well 
shown. In Turner's section the younger beds are quite as much 
deformed as the older beds, but Spurr believes that under the valley 
the Pleistocene deposits form a direct continuation of the Tertiary 
beds.^ 

1 Spurr, J. E., Geology of the Tonopah mining district, Nev.: U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 42, p. 55, 1905. 

2 Turner, H. W., The Esmeralda formation, a fresh-water lake deposit: U. S. Geol. Survey Twenty-first 
Ann. Kept., pt. 2, p. 201, 1900. 

^Spvur, J. E., Ore deposits of the Silver Peak quadrangle, Nev.: U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 55, 
p. 19, 1906. 



GEOLOGY. 57 

QUATERNARY DEPOSITS. 
GENERAL CONDITIONS. 

The upper valley and the greater part of the lower valley are under- 
lain by Quaternary deposits. As these deposits have been only 
slightly deformed and have suffered very Uttle erosion except in the 
upper parts of the alluvial slopes they have few exposures, and as 
the deposits are relatively unconsohdated the existing exposures 
are generally poor. A number of shallow dug wells reveal the 
character of the upper beds, and the driller's logs of a few deeper 
weUs give some information as to the lower beds. 

As shown by the natural outcrops and by the exposures in dug 
wells, the Quaternary deposits consist chiefly of poorly assorted 
gravel, sand, and silt laid down by running water, but include also 
several other kinds of material. Silt and clay deposited by tem- 
porary sheets of water underlie the playas, and these fine sediments 
are generally impregnated or overlain by soluble salts. Under 
them no doubt lie stratified beds deposited by the Pleistocene lakes, 
but the lake beds are not exposed. Surrounding the principal playas 
and in some places extending across them are beach gravels de- 
posited by the waves and currents of the Pleistocene lakes to maximum 
depths of at least 50 feet. In certain locahties there are also irregu- 
lar deposits of sand formed by the wind, and in a few places cal- 
careous deposits, probably reaching a maximum thickness of 50 feet, 
have been formed by springs. 

The lower deposits that fill the depression produced by the deforma- 
tion of the recognized Tertiary and older formations are so completely 
concealed that their age and relation to the underlying formations 
remain matters of conjecture. As the exposed parts of the fill are, 
however, unquestionably Quaternary, all valley deposits that can 
not be identified as Tertiary or older may provisionally be regarded 
as Quaternary. 

Although no very deep weUs have been drilled in the upper valley, 
the steepness of the adjacent mountain sides, the distinctness of the 
boundary between the mountains and the valley, and the almost 
complete absence of rock outcrops in the valley indicate that the 
depth of the valley fill is considerable. Comparison with similar 
valleys in which deep weUs have been sunk leads to the conclusion 
that except near the mountains it is probably at least several hundred 
feet deep. In the lower valley, on the other hand, the boundary 
between the mountains and the vaUey is less definite and rock out- 
crops are numerous in the valley areas. The fill is generally thin on 
the slope southeast of San Antonio, on the upper parts of the slopes 
adjacent to the San Antonio and Monte Cristo ranges, and in the 
southwestern corner of the valley. The absence of rock outcrops on 



58 BIG SMOKY VALLEY. 

the playa and on the lower parts of the alluvial slopes and the data 
obtained in regard to several wells, however, indicate that, except 
near the southwest end, the fill in the axial region of the lower valley 
is generally a few hundred feet thick. In the railroad well at Blair 
Junction Tertiary sandstone was struck at a depth of 110 feet; but 
in Kane's well, 700 feet deep, sand, gravel, and some clayey material 
were penetrated nearly to the bottom, where "Hmestone and quartz- 
ite" are reported; and in the well at Midway, 135 feet deep, and the 
well 2 miles northeast of Goldfield Junction (PI, II) only gravelly 
fill was apparently penetrated. Some of the gravel, sand, and clay 
in Kane's weU may, however, belong to Tertiary strata, 

STREAM DEPOSITS. 

The stream deposits consist essentially of trains of gravel that 
radiate from the mouths of the canyons and a more clayey matrix 
in which the gravel beds are incased. Both the gravelly and the clayey 
deposits increase in fineness with the distance from the canyons. 
Near the mouths of the canyons the matrix contains much embedded 
gravel and some large bowlders, but in the axial part of the vaUey it 
is composed chiefly of silt and clay and contains no very large par- 
ticles. 

The stream deposits are in general relatively unconsohdated, al- 
though they contain enough cement to stand in dug wells without 
casing. Near the bottom of the deeply incised draw east of the 
Chamock springs, however, a hard, firmly cemented valley fill out- 
crops, suggesting that in their lower parts the Quaternary stream 
deposits are considerably indurated and that there may be a sharp 
distinction between the older and younger valley fill. 

In character the stream deposits are directly related to the rocks 
from which they are derived. The slates weather into hard, black 
angular fragments that are not readily rounded but yield clayey 
material when abraded. The Hmestones form abundant black peb- 
bles that are rather resistant to weathering, but by abrasion and solu- 
tion yield fine sediments and also calcium carbonate, by means of 
which the deposits become more or less cemented. The granitic 
rocks form arkosic gravel, sand composed chiefly of quartz grains, 
and only small amounts of clay. The rhyolites and associated vol- 
canic rocks are disintegrated at the sm'face by temperatm'e changes 
and frost and only to a small extent by chemical decomposition. The 
resulting detritus consists, therefore, of arkosic gravel and grit, with 
only small amounts of clay and true sand. The tuffs consist largely 
of minute volcanic fragments which are not firmly cemented and 
which therefore weather readily, producing much fine silt. These dif- 
ferences in the rock waste ha^ve a pronounced effect on the physical 
character of the soil and the water-bearing capacity of the valley fill. 



GEOLOGY. 



59 



The sediments derived from slate and limestone predominate on 
the Kingston fan and adjacent tracts and on the Manhattan fan and 
adjacent tracts and are abundant on the alluvial slope adjoining the 
northern half of the Toquima Range and on most of the slope adjoin- 
ing ithe Toyabe Range south of the Kingston fan. They form only 
a small part of the fill in the lower vaUey. 

Quartz sand derived from granite predominates in the axial part 
of the valley between Moore Lake and Round Mountain, and gran- 
itic gravel is abundant on the upper part of the alluvial slope in this 
region. A well at the Crowell ranch had been drilled to a depth 
of 87 feet in October, 1913, and had revealed practically nothing 
except coarse sand, which is composed chiefly of quartz grains, but 
includes also particles of granite, rhyohte, and slate. The greater 
abundance of dune sand in the southern than in the northern part 
of the bed of ancient Lake Toyabe is no doubt due to the greater 
abundance of granite in the adjacent mountains. 

Granitic gravel and sand are also important on most of the slope 
south of Bowman's ranch. A well just west of Frank Gendron's ranch 
house was reported by the driller, E. J. Hyatt, to be 220 feet deep 
and to extend chiefly through sand similar to that encountered at 
the Crowell ranch. A flowing well a short distance southeast of this 
ranch house (PI. II) was reported by Mr. Hyatt to have the following 
section, in which the abundance of sand and the scarcity of gravel 
is noteworthy. 

Driller's log of flowing well at Frank Gendron's ranch. 




Approxi- 
mate 
depth. 



Sand 

Blue clay 

Sand (flow) 

Blue clay 

Sand (flow) 

Blue clay 

Sand (flow) 

Hardpan (cement gravel); entered some distance. 



Feet. 



50 
75 
100 
121 

148 



Granitic waste occurs almost exclusively on the steep slope adjacent 
to Lone Mountain. The extensive sand deposits in the lower valley 
are derived partly from the granite of this mountain but more largely 
from the Tertiary strata. 

Waste derived from the Tertiary lavas is the most abundant and 
the most widely distributed. It is supplied in great quantities by 
the southern part of the Toyabe and Shoshone ranges, the San 
Antonio Range, and the hills north of the Monte Cristo Range. Grit, 
consisting of irregular fragments of volcanic rock, mantles most of 
the surface of the northern part of the lower valley from Cloverdale 



60 - BIG SMOKY VALLEY. 

and Peavine to Millers and Tonopah, and it no doubt comprises a 
large part of the fill underlying this area. Kane's well (see PI. II) 
is reported to pass through large amounts of "sand and gravel." 

Fine, light-colored silt that contains enough clay to bake hard 
when dry is a characteristic deposit of the axial parts of Big Smoky 
Valley and is especially abundant in the lower valley, where most of 
the tuff, from which it is chiefly derived, is found. 

BEACH GRAVELS. 

Gravels deposited by the waves and currents of the Pleistocene 
lakes are found in beaches along the margins of the lake beds and in 
large ridges that extend across these beds, as is shown on the map, 
Plate I, and described on pages 29-38. The maximum thickness 
of these gravel deposits, so far as known, is about 50 feet. They are 
more thoroughly assorted and less clayey than most of the stream 
deposits, and their pebbles are somewhat more waterworn and better 
rounded. (See PI. XI, A.) The kind of pebbles that predominates in 
any beach or beach ridge depends, of course, on the source of the 
material, but this relation does not give any very rehable clues as to 
the direction of currents that produced the ridges, because the differ- 
ent kinds of rock are exposed in too many locahties to make the 
source of the pebbles readily traceable. In most of the large beaches 
and beach ridges in the upper valley the black pebbles of slate and 
Hmestone predominate, but granitic materials are abundant in the 
southernmost beaches, and quartz sand, chiefly of granitic origin, 
predominates in the small modern beach of Moore Lake. The Alpine 
beaches are composed largely of granite pebbles, but the large 
beaches on the north side of the lake bed in the lower valley contain 
many black pebbles of volcanic origin. As the beaches do not sup- 
port much vegetation, those in which Hmestone, slate, or basalt peb- 
bles are abundant form conspicuous black bands that can be seen 
from the valley sides at distances of several miles. 

PLAYA AND LAKE BEDS. 

Underlying the flats are fine-grained sediments that have been 
deposited from thin temporary sheets of roily water which is for the 
most part derived from heavy floods. Before this water reaches the 
flats its velocity is reduced to such an extent that it deposits aU of its 
load except fine sediments, which it holds in suspension. These sedi- 
ments range from fine sand to dense clay and include large amounts 
of silt. The clay varies in color from Hght yellowish gray to dark 
brown, and the silt and sand are pale yellow or nearly white. Below 
the water level the sediments may have a bluish hue or may be quite 
black. 



U. 8. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 



WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 423 PLATE XI 




A. SECTION OF BEACH RIDGE. 




JS. OUTCROP OF VALLEY FILL IN UPPER PART OF ALLUVIAL SLOPE. 



GEOLOGY. 61 

The sediments show a zonal arrangement, the densest clay gener- 
ally being in the interior of the large fiats and the sand and silt in the 
peripheral parts. Their distribution is affected also by the occurrence 
of the different kinds of rock, the relation of the abundant, hght- 
colored, clayey silt to the derivative tuffs being the most evident. 
The large Millett flat was not examined in all narts, but east of Millett 
it is underlain by a plastic clay, and this material no doubt predomi- 
nates in the interior. The large, nearly level region extending from 
the vicinity of the Daniels ranch to within a few miles of the Spencer 
hot springs is in most places underlain by a fine, gray, clayey silt. 
The flat extending southward from' Moore Lake is underlain largely 
by sand and silt. The large flat in the interior of the lower valley 
has a core of dense clayey material extending from a locahty south 
of the Desert Well nearly to the Silver Peak Railroad, but over a 
large area farther east it is underlain by more porous silt. In the dry 
seasons the more alkahne sediments form irregular crusts at the 
surface that are readily broken into granular or powdery material, 
but the dense clays bake hard and form huge sun cracks. 

The playa deposits are nowhere exposed to depths of more than 10 
feet and no deep excavations have been made in them. No doubt 
they are underlain by stratified lake beds of Pleistocene age, but 
these beds are not exposed. 

DUNE SANDS. 

Deposits formed by the wind and consisting chiefly of quartz sand 
occur in a number of locahties shown in general outhne on the map, 
Plate I. (See also pp. 48, 49.) As a rule they are considerably less than 
1*00 feet thick, but in one locahty on the east side of the lower valley 
they are apparently much thicker. They cover parts of the flat in 
the lower valley, forming not only dunes of the ordinary type but also 
the dome-shaped mounds described on page 50. The flat is inun- 
dated by freshets and receives the exceedingly fine sediments sus- 
pended in the water, but the mounds form islands which receive only 
the coarser, wind-borne sediments. 

TRAVERTINE. 

The terrace at the Spencer Hot Springs, which is nearly a mile long 
and half a mile in maximum width (see p. 50), is underlain by a 
mixture of calcareous spring deposit, wind-borne sediments, and 
vegetable matter, and supports calcareous mounds that were obviously 
built by springs although the largest are at present dry. The entire 
structure has a relief of about 100 feet, but the spring-formed deposits 
apparently rest on a small alluvial slope and are not more than 50 
feet thick. The outcrops of limestone along the east edge of the 
terrace indicate that the water rises through solution channels in this 



62 BIG SMOKY VALLEY. 

rock and derives its calcareous material from it. The analysis given 
on page 154 indicates that the spring water contains 57 parts per 
million of calcium and a large amount of the bicarbonate radicle. 
As the water issues at temperatures ranging up to 144° F. it is probable 
that calcium carbonate is precipitated by the escape of carbon dioxide 
as soon as the water reaches the surface. 

A small ledge of travertine was seen east of the Charnock ranch, a 
short distance below the highest^shore line but well above the level of 
the present springs. It was no doubt formed by a spring that is now 
extinct and that may have existed in a more humid epoch, when the 
ground water had a higher head.* The active spring mounds on the 
Charnock ranch (p. 50) are composed largely of wind-borne sediments 
and vegetable matter. 

SALT DEPOSITS. 

Soluble salts deposited by evaporation of surface and ground waters 
are found in considerable quantities in the lowest parts of both the 
upper and the lower valley and in other places where the surface 
water is impounded or the ground water comes to the surface. 
They are intermingled with the playa silts and clays or form thin 
crusts at the surface of the flats. The largest deposit known in the 
valley is at the Spaulding salt marsh, east of Frank Gendron's ranch 
and south of the west end of the Spaulding beach ridge, where com- 
paratively pure sodium chloride, which was formerly used, exists as 
a thin, white, surface layer. 

The analyses on page 161 show that sodium chloride and sodium 
carbonate are abundant and widely distributed and that calcium 
sulphate and sodium sulphate are also found and in some localities 
are abundant. No tests were made for borax, but it is probably 
present, at least in the lower valley. So far as known the potassium 
salts are present in only relatively small amounts. As is explained 
on pages 118-119, the distribution of the various salts is definitely 
related to the rocks from which they are derived. 

GEOLOGIC HISTORY. 

PALEOZOIC AND MESOZOIC EVENTS. 

The region now occupied by the dramage basin of Big Smoky 
Valley was submerged by the sea during a great part of the Paleozoic 
era and received deposits of sand, clay, and the calcareous remains 
of marine organisms. These deposits accumulated, layer upon layer, 
until they aggregated many thousand feet in total thickness, as is 
shown by the formations that outcrop in the mountains. The sedi- 
mentation began early in the Cambrian period and was in progress 
in the Carboniferous, as is shown by fossils found in the rocks at dif- 
ferent horizons. Whether the region was under water during all of 



GEOLOGY. 63 

the intervening time is not known but the fossils show that there was 
sedimentation in the Ordovician period and the apparent conformity 
of all the strata from the Lower Cambrian to the Carboniferous, 
inclusive, indicate that there was not much disturbance of the earth's 
crust in the region during all this time. 

The era of sedimentation was followed by some notable geologic 
events. The Paleozoic strata were intruded by magmas that pro- 
duced great bodies of granitic rock; they were extensively deformed, 
so that they are now found standing at all angles; and they were sub- 
mitted to long-contmued erosion, whereby the coarse-grained gran- 
ites that must have been formed at great depths were exposed. There 
is no evidence that the region was under water at any time during 
the Mesozoic era. 

TERTIARY EVENTS. 

The Tertiary period was characterized by repeated volcanic out- 
bursts of great magnitude and the extrusion of vast quantities of lava 
over the older formations in all parts of the region. During this 
period there was much deformation, probably caused by the vol- 
canism, the rock formations being extensively broken and faulted. 
The volcanism and deformation together produced radical changes 
in the surface of the land. The uplifted areas were subjected to 
vigorous erosion while the depressed areas, especially in the southern 
part of the region, were filled with the eroded materials, partly by 
stream deposition, such as is taking place at present, but largely by 
accumulation in lakes that occupied the depressions. 

The successive lava flows at Tonopah, the earhest of which were 
andesite and the later ones rhyohte and dacite with small amounts 
of basalt, are beheved by Spurr to have been extruded in the Miocene 
and Phocene epochs, and the tufaceous lake beds of that locality are 
beheved by him to be Miocene. After the eruption of the first 
andesite at Tonopah the formation was fractured and veins rich in 
silver and gold were deposited by heated ascending waters. ^ In the 
southwestern part of the basin sedimentation continued during a 
longer time tlian at Tonopah, but even the oldest exposed strata are 
composed largely of volcanic fragments. The latest eruptions, prob- 
ably of late PMocene age, were flows of basalt. During at least a 
part of the Tertiary period the climate was more humid than it is 
now, as is indicated by coal seams and the fossil remains of large 
trees, and by lake beds that contain fossils of fresh-water organisms. 
It is beheved that during a part of the time, as in the Pleistocene 
epoch, the region contained salt lakes. (See p. 119.) 

1 Spurr, T. E., Geology of the Tonopah miaing district, Nev.: U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 42, p. 67, 
1905. 



64 BIG SMOKY VALLEY. 

QUATERNARY EVENTS. 

At the beguming of the Quaternary period the basin of Big Smoky 
Valley had essentially its present dimensions and the mountain 
ranges occupied approximately their present positions. Shght dis- 
turbances, however, took place during the period, resulting in fault 
scarps on the valley sides. The characteristic process of the period 
has been the erosion of the mountains and the deposition of the re- 
sulting detritus in the valley. The climate was probably arid during 
most of the period, but in late Pleistocene time there was at least one 
relatively humid interval when large lakes were formed. There was 
also a time, apparently contemporaneous with the lake epoch, when 
deposition on the upper and middle parts of the alluvial fans generally 
ceased and valleys of considerable depth and width were cut. 

Wind work, chiefly the handling of sandy sediments of the valley 
fill, was probably in progress throughout the period and is now going 
on, the present dunes having been deposited chiefly since the desicca- 
tion of the lakes. The great extent of postlacustrine wind work is 
indicated by the fact that dunes of very different ages occur on the 
lake bed in the lower vaUey. Considerable erosion of the tuff forma- 
tions and a small amount of erosion on the flats has been accomphshed 
by the wind, but except for the building of the dunes the wind has 
not been an important factor in the molding of the topography of the 
basin. 

The existence of the two large lakes, exposing at their maximum 
stages respectively 85 and 225 square miles of water surface to 
continuous evaporation, indicates distinctly less aridity than exists 
at the present time, when there are no permanent lakes, when the 
surface waters that occasionally spread over the interior depressions 
are quickly disposed of by evaporation, and when the ar;eas over 
which the slow evaporation of ground water takes place are con- 
siderably smaller than the ancient lake beds. On the other hand, 
these lakes do not indicate any great degree of humidity but only 
the moderate differences in precipitation and evaporation exhibited 
by the somewhat better watered and cooler basins that contam salt 
lakes at the present times. Both lakes show great fluctuations in 
water level in response to numerous climatic variations withm the 
epoch of relative humidity. Even in the most humid times, however, 
Lake Toyabe occupied only about 18 per cent and Lake Tonopah 
about 4 per cent of their respective drainage basins. At no time did 
either lake overflow its basin nor did Lake Toyabe ever discharge 
into the lower valley. 

In proportion to the size of their respective drainage basins Lake 
Toyabe was more than four times as extensive as Lake Tonopah. 
This difference was due to the higher altitude and consequently 



PRECIPITATION. 



65 



greater run-off of the northern than the southern mountams, to the 
lower altitude and latitude and consequently greater evaporation 
in the lower than the upper vaUey, to the relatively small contribu- 
tions of water made by remotely connected areas tributary to the 
lower valley, such as lone Valley and the basin discharging at Crow 
Spring, and perhaps also to the greater amount of underground 
leakage from the lower than from the upper valley. 

PRECIPITATION. 

RECORDS. 

Careful and continuous observations of precipitation have been 
made at two places in the drainage basm of Big Smoky VaUey in 
recent years — at Tonopah, where the record is complete since August, 
1906, and where the United States Weather Bureau has for several 
years maintained a station ; and at the Jones ranch, less than 3 miles 
south of MiUett, where observations have been made by Fred J. 
Jones since September, 1907. The following tables give the sum- 
marized precipitation data for these two places and for several points 
in the surroimding country. 

Monthly and annual precipitation (in inches) at Tonopah. 
[Observations made at U. S-. Weather Bureau station.] 



Year. 


Jan. 


Feb. 


Mar. 


Apr. 


May. 


June. 


July. 


Aug. 


Sept. 


Oct. 


Nov. 


Dec. 


An- 
nual. 


1906 
















1.55 
T. 


0.08 
.04 


0.11 
1.23 


0.69 
.01 


1.83 
.21 




1907 


1.19 


0.41 


1.15 


0.22 


0.20 


0.58 


T. 


5.24 


1908.... 


1.10 


1.04 


.22 


.38 


.46 


T. 


0.92 


.30 


.74 


.06 


T. 


.08 


5.30 


1909.... 


.^5 


.49 


.34 


.06 


.01 


.15 


.20 


.91 


2.07 


.26 


2.39 


.16 


7.49 


1910 


.55 


.12 


.20 


.01 


.18 


.00 


,52 


.24 


.94 


.35 


.36 


.75 


4.22 


1911.... 


.31 


.94 


1.14 


.63 


T. 


.10 


.99 


.00 


.27 


.40 


.02 


.13 


4.93 


1912.... 


.03 


.02 


.78 


.58 


.15 


.02 


1.34 


.00 


.01 


1.03 


.10 


T. 


4.06 


1913 


.18 


.76 


.32 


.49 


1.11 


.79 


.16 


1.16 


.62 


.07 


.80 


.29 


6.75 


Average 


.54 


.54 


.59 


.34 


.30 


.24 


.59 


.53 


.60 


.44 


.55 


.43 


5.69 


1914.... 


1.11 


.59 


.00 


.50 


.28 


.58 


.59 


.02 


.27 


.00 


.00 


.21 


4.15 


1915.... 


.30 


.50 


.99 


3.26 


.35 


T. 


.21 


.02 


.00 




T. 


.68 


6.58 



Monthly and annual precipitation (in inches) at the Jones ranch, near Millett.o- 



Year. 


Jan. 


Feb. 


Mar. 


Apr. 


May. 


June. 


July. 


Aug. 


Sept. 


Oct. 


Nov. 


Dec. 


An- 
nual. 


1907 


















0.07 
.45 
2.38 
1.82 
.16 
.20 
.52 


1.20 
.07 
.40 
.45 
.15 

1.29 

T. 


0.00 

T. 

1.46 

T. 
.10 
.20 
.43 


0.75 
.13 
.75 
.79 
.28 
.00 
.20 




1908.... 
1909.... 
1910.... 
1911 .... 

1912 

1913.... 


0.82 
1.00 
1.50 
1.29 
.69 
.10 


1.14 
.29 
.19 

1.08 
.05 
.48 


0.05 
.51 
.34 

1.01 
.96 
.17 


0.12 
.09 
.80 
.61 
.59 
.56 


0.38 
.14 
.33 
.30 
.29 

1.72 


0.00 
.09 
.00 
.17 

"".'93' 


1.42 
.38 

1.95 
.22 
.88 
.38 


0.60 
1.02 
T. 
.00 
.10 

1.11 


5.18 
8.51 
8.17 
5.37 
&5.45 
6.60 


Average 


.90 


.54 


.51 


.46 


.53 


.24 


.87 


.47 


.80 


.51 


.31 


.41 


6.55 


1914.... 
1915.... 


1.74 
.25 


.87 
.77 


.25 
.15 


.42 
2.12 


.35 
.24 


.72 
.00 


1.21 
.10 


.34 
.32 


.85 
T. 


.25 
.00 


.00 
.00 


.06 
.50 


7.06 
4.45 



a The observations were made for the U. S. Weather Bureau by Fred J. Jones at the ranch of Mr. Jones, 
nearly 3 miles south of Millett post office. (See PI. I.) 
6 Estimated for June, 1912. 

4,6979°— wsp 423—17 5 



66 BIG SMOKY VALLEY. 

Anntuil precipitation (in inches) at stations in or near Big Smoky Valley, Nev. 
lU. S. Weather Bureau.) 



Year. 


Austin. 


Belmont. 


Cande- 
laria. 


Haw- 
thorne. 


Millett. 


Potts. 


Tonopah. 


1878 


12.77 
9.80 














1879 














1884 






2.57 
4.16 
4.13 
3.37 
5.84 
7.36 
4.62 
2.28 
4.10 
3.22 
5.70 
3.98 
2.89 
1.86 








1885 . ... 














1887 














1889 














1890 


14.95 
21.07 
10.43 
11.22 
14.89 
9.22 
8.45 
12.89 
13.21 




5.40 








1891 


12.74 
7.69 
9.00 
8.89 
8.10 








1892 










1893 


3.84 








1894 








1895 






3.99 
13.52 




1896 


4.17 
4.21 
4.27 






1897 








1898 










1899 






5.40 
4.82 




1900 




6.15 
9.22 


3.81 






1901 


13.73 


2.60 














1903 


9.24 


4.32 
8.84 


3.36 
11.18 


i.75 
4.39 




5.52 
8.60 
10.09 
6.87 
8.13 
3.34 
5.20 
4.08 
3.40 
4.54 
6 12.04 










1905 






















1907 












5.24 










2.10 
6.17 


5.18 
8.51 
8.17 
5.37 
05.45 
6.60 


5.30 


1909 








7.49 










4.22 


1911 










4.93 












4.06 


1913 










6.75 














Average 


11.72 


8.67 


4.98 


3.56 


6.55 


6.93 


5.69 







o Estimated for June, 1912. 



6 Estimated for January, 1913. 



Average monthly and annual precipitation {in inches) at stations in or near Big Smoky 

Valley, Nev. 

[U. S. Weather Bureau.] • 





Length 








^ 


















An- 




of 
record. 


Jan. 


i'eb. 


Mar. 


Apr. 


May. 


June. 


July. 


Aug. 


Sept. 


Oct. 


Mot. 


Dec. 


nual. 




years. 




























Austin 


23 


1.21 


1.33 


1.50 


1.50 


1.56 


0.63 


0.39 


0.55 


0.51 


0.62 


0.68 


1.24 


11.72 


Belmont 


13 


.85 


1.10 


.92 


.68 


.84 


.46 


.49 


.94 


.53 


.46 


.31 


1.09 


8.67 


Candelaria . . 


16 


.47 


.42 


.37 


.43 


.66 


.17 


.28 


.86 


.35 


.51 


.17 


.29 


4.98 


Hawthorne . 


25 


.60 


.35 


.22 


.24 


.36 


.25 


.15 


.24 


.22 


.22 


.32 


.39 


3.56 


Millett 


6 


.90 


.54 


.51 


.46 


.53 


.24 


.87 


.47 


.80 


.51 


.31 


.41 


6.55 


Potts 


22 


.53 


.66 


.82 


.71 


1.11 


.40 


.65 


.57 


.30 


.33 


.39 


.46 


6.93 


Tonopah.... 


7 


.54- 


.54 


.59 


.34 


.30 


.24 


.69 


.63 


.60 


.44 


.55 


.43 


5.69 



GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION. 



The available precipitation data give reliable 



though 



general 



information as to the degree of aridity in the region, but they are too 
meager to show the range in precipitation which is suggested by the 
topography, vegetation, and other natural conditions in different 
parts of the basin. The data show that the vaUey must be regarded 
as arid rather than semiarid. 

At the Jones ranch, situated on the west side of the upper valley, 
between 5,500 and 5,600 feet above sea level, the precipitation iu 6 
years averaged only 6.55 inches a year and in no year amounted to 



PEECIPITATIOlSr. 67 

as much as 9 inches. In only 18 of the 99 months for which records 
are given at this station did the precipitation amount to 1 inch and 
in only 2 months did it reach 2 inches. These figures are beheved to 
be fairly representative for the conditions in the upper vaUey. 

At the Weather Bureau station in Tonopah, situated 6,090 feet 
above sea level, near the summit of the low group of hills forming 
the southern part of the San Antonio Range, the annual precipita- 
tion in seven years was between 4.06 inches and 7.49 inches and aver- 
aged only 5.69 inches. In the 113 months for which there are records, 
an entire inch of precipitation was recorded in only 18, and as much 
as 2 inches in only 3 months. These figures are probably fairly 
representative for the low mountainous areas in the southern part of 
the basin, and they corroborate the evidence of great aridity furn- 
ished by the vegetation, the topography, and the general lack of 
springs and streams in these areas. 

The minimmn precipitation probably occurs at the lower levels of 
the lower vaUey. No records are available for the vaUey area, but 
the aridity appears to be even more intense than in the upper valley 
or in the low ranges represented by the Tonopah record. At Cande- 
laria, situated about 6,000 feet above sea level, the average annual 
precipitation in an interrupted record period of 16 years amounted 
to less than 5 inches, and at Hawthorne, situated about 4,500 feet 
above sea level, it amounted in an interrupted record period of 25 
years to only a little over 3 J inches. 

In the higher mountains the precipitation is appreciably greater, 
as is shown by the growth of trees and grass. At Austin the average 
annual precipitation is nearly 12 inches, according to the records, and 
in the loftiest parts of the Toyabe Range it is probably stiU more. 

SEASONAL DISTRIBUTION. 

The precipitation is irregularly distributed both in time and in 
space. Most of the rain for an entire year or even for several years 
may fall in a single storm of short duration^ and while such a cloud- 
burst is affecting a certain locality the sun may be shining only a few 
miles away. Consequently there are large differences in the monthly 
and even the annual precipitation of the different stations in the 
region, and the record of a station for any given month or year may 
not be representative of the general area in which it is located. In a 
period of years, however, the irregularities are largely compensated, 
and the monthly and annual averages are therefore fairly repre- 
sentative. The monthly averages for the different stations show 
that the heaviest precipitation is in winter and early spring and in 
midsummer, and the lightest in late spring and in autumn (fig. 8) . 
They show, however, that the seasonal differences are not marked, 
aridity being characteristic of aU seasons, whereas storms producing 
rain or snow may come in any month. 



68 



BIG SMOKY VALLEY. 



The summer precipitation generally comes in the form of violent 
local thunder storms in the afternoon or evening of hot days, o-ivino- 
rise to sudden floods. The precipitation of the mnter and early 
spring more often accompanies the regional storms of longer duration. 

It forms a larger pro- 
portion of the total pre- 
cipitation in the liigh 
mountains than in the 
vaUey, as is shown by 
the curves in figure 8. 
(Compare, for instance, 
Austin and Millett.) 
Tlie winter precipita- 
tion in the liigher moun- 
tains accumulates in the 
form of snow, which, 
melting gradually in the 
spring, either feeds the 
mountain streams di- 
rectly or seeps into the 
rock waste and decom- 
posed upper part of the 
bedrock, giving rise to 
springs that feed the 
streams during summer 
and autumn. These 
streams furnish most of 
the irrigation supplies 
and provide most of the 
ground water. 

STREAMS. 

GENERAL FEATURE S. 

As shown in Plates 
I and II (in pocket), 
about 50 of the can- 
yons that drain into 
Big Smoky Valley con- 
tam small perennial 
streams. All of these 
discharge into the up- 
per valley except Pea- 
vine, Cottonwood, and Cloverdale creeks, and aU rise in the Toyabe 
Range except Cloverdale Creek, which is fed partly from the Sho- 
shone Range, and North Moore, South Moore, North Barker, Barker, 




strea'ms. 69 

Willow, Jefferson, and Shoshone creeks, which rise in the Toquima 
Range. The largest streams are the Twin Rivers, Kingston Creek, 
and Peavme Creek, which fluctuates greatly in volume. North of 
Kingston Creek, in the Toyabe Range, are Santa Fe and Birch creeks 
and. about 10 smaller streams; between Kingston Creek and the 
Twin Rivers there are about 18 small streams; and between the Twm 
Rivers and Peavine Creek there are about 8 small streams. 

The perennial streams are fed partly by rain and meltmg snow and 
partly by springs supphed by seepage from the masses of rock waste 
in the undulating upper parts of the mountains and m the gulches 
farther down. The streams are largest in the sprmg of the year 
when the snow melts and when there is also considerable rain in the 
mountains. By the end of June most of the snow has disappeared 
and in the succeeding months the evaporation is great. Consequently 
the streams shrink very much. The heavy storms of midsummer 
occasionally swell the streams, but they do not contribute much to 
their permanent flow. In the spring many of the streams persist in 
their courses across the alluvial slopes and furnish water for the irri- 
gation of considerable land at the ranches far down in the valley 
(PI. II and p. 128), but in the fall most of them do not persist far 
beyond the mouths of the canyons and some of the smallest do not 
even reach the canyon mouths. 

Tliree series of measurements of the flow of the principal streams 
were made at different seasons of the year. Tlie first series was made 
by the writer September 27 to October 8, 1914; the second and third 
by A. B. Purton April 19 to 25, 1915, and June 30 to July 6, 1915, 
respectively. In the first series of measurements a current meter 
was used exclusively, m the second and third series a current meter 
was used chiefly, but a 1-foot Cippoletti weir was used in a few small 
streams. In measuring such small flows with a current meter the 
percentage of error was undoubtedly rather large. In many streams 
the rocky bed made it impossible to install the weir satisfactorily 
without spending more time than seemed warranted. In others it was 
impracticable to use the weir because it was necessary to go on foot 
2 or 3 miles without knowing the amount of water that would be 
found and weir board and shovel could not be carried m addition to 
the current meter. 

Considerable rain fell during the week of the April measurements 
and also earlier in the month. In the Nevada section of "Climato- 
logical data," pubUshed by the United States Weather Bureau, the 
following statement is made in regard to the weather in April: 
' 'Showery weather predominated. Considered as a whole, the month, 
with one exception (1900), was the wettest April on record. * * * 
At Tonopah aU previous records were broken. The total precipi- 
tation at Jones's ranch near MiUett amounted to 2.12 inches, and at 
Tonopah 3.26 inches. The month was appreciably warmer than 
usual for April." 



70 



BIG SMOKY VALLEY. 



As reported by the Weather Bureau, there was 0.24 inch of pre- 
cipitation in May, 1915, at the MUlett station and none in June, 1915. 
At Tonopah the May record was 0.35 inch and the June record 
''a trace." No raia fell while the measurements in June and July 
were being made except on July 4, when there were very Hght showers. 
The weather was hot and there was little wind. The snowfall during 
the previous winter was light, and by July 1 only a few small snow 
banks were visible on the highest mountains. From local informa- 
tion it appears that the streams in the southern part of the Toyabe 
Range were holding up better than those in the northern part. The 
streams on the east side of the valley, particularly the two Moore 
creeks and Barker Creek, were reported to be holding up remarkably 
well, although they had not reached stages as high as in 1914. The 
maximum in 1915 seems to have occurred on most of the creeks 
between May 25 and June 15 and to have been lower than the 
average. It was reported that some of the smaller creeks did not 
have the usual spring floods. 

At the time of the visit in July considerable water was being used 
for irrigation, and some of the measurements made at different 
points on the same creek included this loss as well as that from per- 
colation, evaporation, and transpiration. Examples of the loss of 
water flowing in the natural channels are afforded by Birch, Oilman, 
Blue Spring, Belcher, and Cove creeks, and Kingston Creek between 
the two lower measurements on July 1 ; examples of loss in channels 
that have been improved, by Decker Creek on July 2 and by the 
combination of Santa Fe and Shoshone creeks at Schmidtlem's ranch. 

The discharge of the streams into Big Smoky Valley during the 
three periods in which series of measurements were made is sum- 
marized in the following table. The figures represent, as nearly as 
possible, the discharge at the mouths of the canyons. The detailed 
data are given on subsequent pages. 

Measured and estimated discharge of streams into Big SmoTcy Valley, Nev., during three 

periods in 1914 and 1915. 





Sept. 27 to Oct. 7, 
1914. 


Apr. 19 to 2C, 1915. 


Jime 30 to July 6, 
1915. 




Number 
of 

streams. 


Dis- 
charge. 


Number 
of 

streams. 


Dis- 
charge. 


Number 

of 
streams. 


Dis- 
charge. 


MEASUEED STREAMS. 

Upper valley: 

From Toyabe Range 


13 


Scc.-ft. 
19.04 


23 

7 


Sec.-ft. 
80.34 
23.38 


23 

7 


Scc.-ft. 
83.13 


From Toquima Range 


16.02 










Lower valley 


13 


19.04 


30 
3 


109. 72 
53.50 


30 
3 


99.15 
3.05 










Grand total 


13 


19.04 


33 


103. 22 


33 


102 80 






ALL STREAMS (ESTIMATED). 

Upper valley: 

From Toyabe Range 


44 
7 


27.0 
4.0 


44 
7 


94.0 
23.0 


44 

7 


88 


Frnm Tnr[nim!i. Rfingpi 


10. 






Lower valley 


51 
3 


31.0 
3.0 


51 
3 


117 
53.0 


51 
3 


104 
4 






Grand total 


54 


34.0 


54 


170.0 


54 


108 







STEEAMS. 



71 



STREAMS IN THE TOYABE RANGE. 

Northern axial draw. — ^The draw which extends from the north end 
of Big Smoky Valley practica,lly to the Daniels beach ridge was 
examined in October, 1914, nearly to the north end of T. 19 N., R. 
45 E. Wherever it was seen it was found to be entirely dry, with- 
out indications of surface water except occasional freshets and with- 
out indications of ground water until it reaches the main shallow- 
water area a short distance south of the Spencer Hot Springs. (See 
Pis. I and II.) 

WiUow Creek. — ^A large but rather low area in the northeastern 
corner of the north basin of Big Smoky Valley is drained by Willow 
Creek. This creek was seen only in the vicinity of the Laxague 
ranch in October, 1914, and in the vicinity of the Moss ranch in the 
faU of 1913 and 1914. In both locahties there were shallow weUs, 
springs, and other indications of ground water but no stream that per- 
sisted more than a short distance. The map is probably not accurate 
in respect to the perennial and temporary parts of this creek. 

Blackbird Creek. — ^Blackbird Canyon contains small springs and 
seeps in several localities but no permanent stream except the riUs 
that flow short distances below the springs. On April 26, 1915, the 
flow above the ranch, about 2J miles above the mouth of the canyon, 
as measured with the weir, was 0.20 second-foot. This flow was 
diverted for use on the ranch. The creek was dry at the mouth of 
the canyon. 

Birch Creek. — ^The largest stream north of Kingston Creek is Birch 
Creek, which rises in the undulating upper part of the range, where in 
the f aU it derives its entire supply from springs. 

A gaging station was maintained by the United States Geological 
Survey on this stream at the mouth of the canyon (SW. | sec. 35, 
T. 18 N., R. 44 E.) from June 13 to November 30, 1913, the daily 
gage heights being read by John H. Spencer. The following table 
shows the monthly discharge of the creek during this period according 
to the record, which, however, is of rather doubtful accuracy. 

Monthly discharge of Birch Creek at the mouth of its canyon from June IS to Nov. 30, 1913.<^ 



Month. 



Discharge in seeond-feet. 



Maximum. Mioimum 



Average. 



Total 
run-ofl in 
acre-feet. 



June 13-30 . - 

July 

August 

September . . 

October 

November 6 . 



12.0 
4.1 
4.1 

11.0 
3.3 



3.3 
2.3 
1.5 
3.3 



4.96 
3.07 
2.89 
3.97 
1.85 



177 
189 
178 
236 
114 



a Surface water supply of the Great Basin, 1913: U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 360, 1916: 
record subsequent to Oct. 1, 1913, unpublished. 
b Estimated in part. 



72 BIG SMOKY VALLEY. 

The flow at the gaging station was 1.12 second-feet September 27, 

1914, 1.89 on April 26, 1915, and 2.79 on June 30, 1915. On Septem- 
ber 27 the flow was 1.18 second-feet at a poiat 2.85 miles above the 
gaging station and a short distance below the meadow in the moun- 
tains. On the same day it was only 0.43 second-foot at a pomt 1.4 
miles below the gaging station, and approximately 0.25 second-foot 
at the main road at Spencer's ranch. The heavy loss below the 
gaging station was due to diversion from the main ditch into a gravelly 
channel, where the water sank rapidly. On AprU 26 the flow was 1.65 
second-feet at a point above the first diversion, a httle more than a 
mile below the gaging station, and approximately 0.10 second-foot 
at the main road. On June 30 the flow was 2.68 second-feet at the 
point above the first diversion and approximately 0.10 second-foot 
at the main road, the water being used for irrigation above the road 
on the Spencer ranch. 

SpanisTi, Lynch, and Tarr creeks. — South of Birch Creek there are 
several canyons that contain small streams. In September, 1914, 
Spanish Canyon contained no stream that reached the mouth of the 
canyon, but some underflow was indicated near the mouth by a clump 
of willows and a short distance farther down by a spring yielding 
about 10 gallons a minute and by birch trees and buffalo-berry bushes. 
The mouth of the canyon was dry also on June 30, 1915. 

In September, 1914, Lynch Canyon contained a small stream which 
carried only about one-eighth of a second-foot at the mouth of the 
canyon and disappeared a short distance farther down. (See PI. II and 
table, p. 80.) On June 30, 1915, it carried 0.32 second-foot at the 
mouth of the canyon, above the ditch, as measured with the weir, 
and this water was used on a small alfalfa field. 

Tarr Creek is formed by two forks which come together less than a 
mile above the mouth of the canyon. The North Fork is reported to 
be a perennial stream for about a mile and the South Fork for IJ 
miles above the junction. In September, 1914, each fork was 
estimated to carry between 0.10 and 0.20 second-foot at points not 
far above the junction. Below the junction the water sank rapidly 
into accumulations of porous rock waste and disappeared in the 
course of about half a mile. A short distance farther down the 
canyon a part of the water was returned in springs, the flow of which, 
as determined with the current meter at a point one-eighth mile 
above the house at the mouth of the canyon, was 0.20 second-foot. 
When not used for irrigation the stream issuing from the springs 
extended in the fall only about one-fourth mile below the mouth of 
the canyon. The flow one-eighth mile above the house at the 
mouth of the canyon was determined to be 1.46 second-feet April 26, 

1915, and 0.69 second-foot June 30, 1915. On April 26 the stream 
did not extend more than a mile below the house. 



STREAMS. 73 

The water of Tarr, Lynch, and Spanish canyons is used by J. H. 
Cahill for the irrigation of small tracts near the canyon mouths. 

Sheep, Rock, Crooked, Gillman, Glohe, and Frenchman creeks. — Be- 
tween Tarr Creek and Santa Fe Creek there are five short gorges with 
small streams known as Sheep, Rock, Crooked, Globe, and Frenchman 
creeks. In AprU and the first part of May these streams are at a 
maximum and flow down the alluvial slope to the Schmidtlein ranch, 
where they are in part used for irrigation. Early in the season, 
however, they shrink to small size and in the fall they do not generally 
reach the mouths of their canyons. A spring issues at the mouth of 
Rock Creek. 

Gillman Creek rises from a spring at the edge of the mountains 
between Crooked and Globe canyons. On September 29 its flow was 
determined to be 0.38 second-foot just below the spring and 0.21 
second-foot at the main road, 1.85 miles downstream. On April 26 
its flow, measured by the weir, was 0.22 second-foot at the road; on 
June 30 it was 0.58 second-foot just below the spring and 0.45 at the 
road. 

Santa Fe, Shoshone, and Blakey creeks. — Santa Fe and Shoshone 
creeks, which emerge from the mountains less than one-fourth mile 
apart, drain much of the north and east flanks of Bunker HiU Peak, 
where there is relatively heavy snowfall and where the snow is protected 
from the sun to such an extent that it contributes to the stream flow 
during practically the entire summer. On September 30, 1914, 
Santa Fe Creek was flowing 0.83 second-foot and Shoshone Creek 0.50 
second-foot at the canyon mouths. At the same time Santa Fe Creek 
was flowing only 0.39 second-foot at a point below its junction with 
Shoshone Creek, 1.85 miles below the mouth, of its canyon, and only 
about 0.20 second-foot at the main road. On April 25, 1915, Santa Fe 
and Shoshone creeks flowed 1.42 and 0.62 second-feet respectively at 
the mouths of their canyons and together flowed about 1.00 second- 
foot at the main road. On July 1, 1915, they flowed 2.33 and 1.07 
second-feet respectively at the mouths of their canyons and together 
flowed 2.56 second-feet at a point above the first diversion. 

Blakey Canyon, a short, steep gorge between Shoshone and 
Kingston canyons, carries a small stream which in the fall does not 
reach the valley. 

Kingston Creek. — One of the largest streams in the basin is Kingston 
Creek, which drains not only the south and west flanks and a part of 
the north flank of Bunker Hill Peak but also an extensive area of the 
undulating upper part of the range. As in the Birch Creek basin, 
the autumn flow is derived almost entirely from springs in this upper 
part, the contributions in the steep, narrow part of the canyon below 
the lower Daniels ranch being nearly negligible. On October 1, 1914, 
the flow four-fifths mile below the upper Daniels ranch and about 3 J . 



74 BIG SMOKY VALLEY, 

miles above the road crossing near the old mill was 6.68 second-feet 
and at the crossing near the old mill it was 7.21 second-feet. The 
flow, therefore, amounted to approximately one-fifth second-foot for 
each square mile that is drained. (See PI. II and the table, p. 82.) 
The stream is said to be at its maximum in most years between the 
middle of May and the first part of July, when, according to certain 
records obtained by the State engineer from the commissioners of 
Lander County, it may carry 15 to 20 second-feet. On April 25, 
1915, the flow at the old mill was only 3.41 second-feet, and no water 
was flowing at the lower end of the field, 1.8 miles below the old mill. 
On July 1, 1915, the fiow was 10.0 second-feet at a point just below 
the field at the upper Daniels ranch, 14.9 second-feet near the old 
miU, 1.75 second-feet 1.8 miles below the old mill, and 1.11 second- 
feet at a point just above Schmidtlein's field, 4 J miles below the old 
mill. Most of the water is applied on the Kingston ranch, at the 
mouth of the canyon, but a part is used on the Daniels ranches, situ- 
ated above the Kingston ranch, and a part reaches the Schmidtlein 
ranch in the valley. (See PI. II, in pocket.) On July 1, 1915, water 
was being used on a small field on the lower Daniels ranch between 
the upper measurement point and that near the old mill, and on the 
Kingston ranch between the measurement point at the old miU and 
the next downstream, but no water.was diverted between the lower 
two measurement points. 

Clear and Carsley creeks. — Next south of Eangston Creek are Clear 
and Carsley creeks, which practically meet at the edge of the moun- 
tains. In the faU they were among the larger streams of the basin 
of Big Smoky Valley. At points a Httle above the house at the edge 
of the mountains (see table,, p. 81) they flowed, respectively, 0.56 
and 0.99 second-foot on October 2, 1914, 0.98 and 1.20 second-feet 
April 25, 1915, and 2.71 and 4.35 second-feet July 2, 1915. On April 
25 the flow of the springs between the mouth of the canyon and the 
main road was estimated at 0.40 second-foot. The water is used for 
irrigating several fields belonging to the E-ast and Bowman ranches. 
On each visit to the locality only a small amount of water, estimated 
at 0.05 to 0.08 second-foot, reached the Bowman ranch house on the 
main road, the rest being used for irrigation or sinking into the 
gravelly stream bed. 

Needles and Decker creeks. — ^For about 15 miles between Carsley 
and Summit creeks the mountain area draining into Big Smoky 
Valley is exceptionally narrow and is cut by numerous short, steep 
canyons, about eleven of which contain small streams that shrink 
very much after the spring months. 

Needles Creek, Decker Creek, and a small creek about half a mile 
south of Decker furnish irrigation water for Frank Gendron's ranch. 
On October 8, 1914, Decker Creek, probably with its south tributary 



STREAMS. 75 

flowed 0.64 second-foot at Gendron's ranch on the main road, the 
water being conveyed from the mountains in a more or less water- 
proofed ditch. (See p. 129.) Needles Creek flowed considerably less. 
On April 25, 1915, Decker Creek flowed 2.25 second-feet and the 
small south tributary 0.50 second-foot, both measured at the mouths 
of their canyons. Together they flowed only 0.58 second-foot at 
the main road, the stream presumably not being in the waterproofed 
ditch. On July 2, 1915, Needles Creek flowed 0.51 second-foot at 
the main road, and Decker Creek flowed 1.17 second-feet at the 
mouth of its canyon and 1.13 second-feet at the main road. On 
July 2 Decker Creek flowed in the waterproofed ditch, and Mr. 
Gendron stated that a few days earher, when it was in its natural 
channel, it scarcely reached the road. 

Blue Spring Creek. — On October 3, 1914, Blue Spring Creek flowed 
about 0.40 second-foot at the mouth of its canyon and only 0.10 
second-foot just above Mrs. Ahoe Gendron's garden, west of the upper 
road, most of the water being lost by percolation. On April 25, 1915, 
it flowed 1.45 second-feet at the mouth of its canyon and 0.66 second- 
foot at the lower road. On July 2, 1915, it flowed 0.67 second-foot 
at the mouth of its canyon, 0.44 second-foot above Mrs. Gendron's 
garden, and 0.20 second-foot at the upper road, the last measurement 
being obtained with the weir. The water of this creek is used on 
Mrs. Gendron's ranch. 

Declcer Boh, GrinneU, Trail, Parle, Wildcat, Clay, amd Mose creeks. — 
Decker Bob and Grinnell creeks are very small streams that irrigate 
tmy fields near theh respective canyon mouths. On April 25, 1915, 
Grinnell Creek flowed 0.45 second-foot at the upper road, 2| to 3 
miles below the mouth of its canyon, but in the fall of 1914 and on 
July 2, 1915, it was dry at this point. Trail Canyon also contains a 
very small stream. Park, Wildcat, and Clay canyons contain small 
streams, which in the spring are led to Millett. Mose Canyon carries 
Httle water. 

Summit, Wisconsin, OpMr, Last Chance, and Hercules creeks. — In 
October, 1914, the aggregate discharge of Summit, Wisconsin, Ophir, 
and Last Chance creeks, across the road leading from Millett to 
Twin Rivers, was estimated at 0.75 second-foot. Earher in the 
season their flow is, of course, larger. On April 23, 1915, the aggre- 
gate flow was 1.25 second-feet on the same road and on July 3, 1915, 
3.98 second-feet about 1\ miles below the mouths of the canyons, 
1.19 second-feet being the flow on July 3 of Last Chance Creek alone. 
The combined flow of the four creeks at the main road on July 3 was 
1.69 second-feet. The water of these four creeks is used on the 
Rogers ranch. The water from Hercules Canyon is used on a field 
near the mouth of the canyon. 



76 BIG SMOKY VALLEY. 

Twin Rivers. — ^The Twin Rivers head in the lofty mountain mass 
that cuhninates in Arc Dome, and their combmed dramage area is 
about equal to that of Kingston Creek. On October 7, 1914, North 
Twin River flowed 2.61 second-feet and South Twin River 3.48 
second-feet at points about one-eighth mile below the mouths of 
their canyons. On April 23, 1915, North Twin River flowed 12.90 
second-feet and South Twin River 8.54 second-feet at points about 
one-fourth mile below the mouths of their canyons. On July 3, 1915, 
North Twin River flowed 13.60 second-feet and South Twin River 
14.40 second-feet at points about one-fourth mile below the mouths 
of their canyons. The water from both streams is used on A. B. 
Millett's Twin River ranch and on his ranch south of the Rogers 
ranch. 

Belcher, Cove, and Broad creeks. — The steep slope south of Twin 
Rivers is drained by several perennial streams of great seasonal 
fluctuation. In the early part of the irrigation season they reach 
the ranches in the vaUey, but later they do not get far out of the 
mountains. On April 23, 1915, Belcher Creek flowed 6.25 second- 
feet at the mouth of its canyon and 4.75 second-feet at the upper 
road; on July 4, 1915, it flowed 5.20 second-feet at the mouth of its 
canyon and 3.01 second-feet at the upper road above the first diver- 
sion. On April 21 Cove Creek flowed 2.78 second-feet and Broad 
Creek 13.8, both measured at the mouths of the canyons. On July 
4 Cove Creek flowed 3.43 second-feet at the mouth of its canyon and 
2.21 second-feet at the road crossing. On the same day Broad Creek 
flowed 1.95 second-feet at the mouth of its canyon. 

Jett CreeTc. — Among the larger streams of the basin is Jett Creek, 
the water of which was used on Wood's ranch until recently, when 
it was purchased for use m mining at Round Mountam. On April 
20, 1915, it flowed 18.6 second-feet at the mouth of its canyon. On 
July 5, 1915, it flowed 5.83 second-feet 2 miles above the mouth of 
the canyon, at the intake to the 15-inch pipe line in which the water 
was conveyed to Round Mountain. On July 5 it flowed about 0.10 
second-foot just below the intake and about 0.25 second-foot at the 
mouth of the canyon. 

Pahlo, Wall, Antelope, and Boyd creeks. — The canyons between 
Jett and Peavine creeks contain only small streams. The water of 
Pablo Creek is used for irrigation near the canyon mouth. In tho 
fall it carries very Mttle water, but on April 20, 1915, it flowed 6.58 
second-feet and on July 6, 1915, it flowed 2.65 second-feet. On 
April 19, 1915, Wall, Antelope, and Boj^d creeks were all dry at the 
mouths of their canyons, but Antelope Creek flowed about 0.01 
second-foot, or 5 gallons per minute, at a point 300 feet above the 
mouth of its canyon. 



STEEAMS. 77 

Peavine Creek. — ^A mountainous area about 100 square miles in 
extent, at the south end of the Toyabe Range, is drained by Peavine 
Creek. This creek discharges large quantities of water in the aggre- 
gate, but it is subject to great fluctuations, and its normal low-water 
flow is much less than that of Kingston Creek or Twin Rivers. On 
October 2, 1913, the flow reaching the Peavine ranch, owned by 
E. E. Seyler, was estimated to be not more than 2 second-feet. The 
following measurements or estimates made by representatives of the 
State engineer show that at times the flow is much greater: May 5, 
1911, at the crossing of the road to Manliattan, below the Peavine 
ranch, 100 second-feet; October 19, 1911, at the same point, 7 second- 
feet; July 4, 1911, 3 miles below San Antonio (middle of north margin 
of sec. 3, T. 6 N., R. 41 E.), 20 second-feet. The following measure- 
ments by the United States Geological Survey also show that the 
flow fluctuates between wide Hmits: April 19, 1915, one-half mile 
below Seyler's house, 41.70 second-feet; July 6, 1915, above Seyler's 
ranch, 3.50 second-feet; at the road leading from Cloverdale to 
Tonopah, about 0.30 second-foot. It was reported that on April 19 
the stream reached the vicinity of Millers. 

Cottonwood Creek. — On April 19, 1915, Cottonwood Creek flowed 
approximately 0.50 second-foot and on July 6, 1915, approximately 
0.10 second-foot at the road that passes Mud Spring, but in the fall 
of 1913 it did not reach this road. It is said to be a perennial stream 
in its canyon. 

Cloverdale Creek. — In the upper part of its canyon Cloverdale Creek 
is a small perennial stream, but in the fall of 1913 it did not reach the 
Cloverdale ranch. At the ranch a part of the underflow, amounting 
to perhaps a second-foot, was returned to the surface and used for 
irrigation. On April 19, 1915, the creek flowed 1 1 .3 second-feet above 
the ranch, but on July 6, 1915, it became dry before reaching the 
ranch. 

STREAMS IN THE TOQUIMA RANGE. 

North avd South Moore creeks. — On April 24, 1915, North Moore 
Creek flowed 0.94 second-foot above Jacob Urech's ranch and South 
Moore Creek flowed 0.24 second-foot opposite this ranch. On July 3, 
1915, North Moore Creek flowed 4.63 second-feet at the mouth of its 
canyon and South Moore Creek flowed 2.61 second-feet at the mouth 
of the canyon, above the first diversion. In the faU of 1913 North 
Moore Creek nearly reached Moore Lake and less than a half mile 
above where it disappeared it flowed one-half second-foot. On 
April 24, 1915, it became dry about 2^ or 3 miles below its canyon; 
on July 3, 1915, it discharged water into Moore Lake. These streams 
are reported to be used chiefly on the Urech ranch. 

Barker and North Barker creeks. — In the fall of 1913 Barker Creek 
did not reach the lower part of the valley, but, according to records 



78 BIG SMOKY VALLEY. 

of the State engineer, it had a flow on July 6, 1914, at the Barker 
ranch of about IJ second-feet. On April 22, 1915, North Barker 
Creek had a flow of 1.00 second-foot opposite the small ranch in the 
mouth of Barker Canyon, and Barker Creek had a flow of 3.09 second- 
feet at the mouth of its canyon, above the cabin. On July 5, 1915, 
North Barker Creek had a flow of about 0.20 second-foot at a point 
one-fourth mile farther north and Barker Creek had a flow of 7.11 
second-feet at the cabin and 2.77 second-feet at Cook's diversion, 4 
or 5 miles downstream. 

Willow Creek. — In the fall of 1913 Willow Creek did not reach the 
lower part of the vaUey. On April 22, 1915, it carried 1.21 second- 
feet at the foothill road, 1 J to 2 miles below the mouth of the canyon. 
On July 5, 1915, it carried only 0.31 second-foot at the same road. 

Jefferson and Shoshone creeks.— -The elevated parts of the Toquima 
Range that culminate in Jefferson Peak are drained by Jefferson and 
Shoshone creeks. Small patches of snow from the previous winter 
were still visible on the north side of this peak in October, 1914. 
These two streams supply water for mining at Roimd Momitain. It 
should be noted that the name "Shoshone" is used for two entirely 
distinct streams in the Big Smoky VaUey basin. (See p. 73.) On 
April 21, 1915, Jefferson Creek flowed 16.80 second-feet about one- 
half mile above the forest ranger's station but below the mouth of 
North Jefferson Creek, and on July 4, 1915, it flowed 1.11 second-feet 
at a point about one-fourth mile farther upstream, but below the 
mouth of North Jefferson Creek, and 1.58 second-feet at the lower 
road. Shoshone Creek flowed about 0.10 second-foot at Shoshone 
village on April 22, 1915, and about 0.05 second-foot at the same 
place on July 4, 1915. 

GROUND-WATER INTAKE. 

SOURCES. 

The bedrocks of the Big Smoky VaUey drainage basin are rela- 
tively impervious and form a huge reservoir that is nearly water- 
tight. In this reservoir rests the great accumulation of porous rock 
waste caUed the valley fill, which is saturated with water up to a 
certain level known as the water table. The great body of water 
that is stored underground in this natural reservoir is derived from 
the rain and snow that fall upon the drainage basin. 

Contributions to the underground supply are made at the locali- 
ties where the f oUowing three conditions exist : (1 ) The formations 
lying between the surface and the water table are not water-tight; 
(2) the water from rain or snow is apphed in sufficient quantity to 
percolate to the water table without being entirely absorbed by the 
capillary pores of the dry zone between the surface and the water 
table; and (3) the water table is not aheady at the surface. These 



GROUND-WATER INTAKE. 79 

three conditions are provided most fully on tlie upper parts of the 
alluvial fans, where water is poured from the mountains upon grav- 
elly deposits through which it can percolate freely to the water table. 
They are largely wanting in the mountains, where nearly impervious 
bedrocks are near the surface, and in the lower parts of the valley, 
where the soil is too tight to admit water freely and where over large 
areas the water table is so near the surface that water is being dis- 
charged from the valley fiU instead of being taken in. 

Contributions to the water in the valley fill are made by (1) the 
perennial streams that flow out of the larger canyons; (2) the floods 
discharged at long intervals from the canyons which are normally 
dry; (3) the underflow of some of the canyons; (4) the rain that falls 
in the vaUey; and (5) water discharged underground from openings 
in the bedrocks. None of these contributions can be definitely meas- 
ured, but an analysis of the conditions so far as known makes possible 
estimates which, though unsatisfactory, have some practical value. 

CONTRIBUTIONS BY PERENNIAL STREAMS. 

The valley fi^ll is especially porous on the upper graveUy parts of 
the alluvial slope over which the streams of the Toyabe Range dis- 
charge and on the sandy parts of the slope over which the streams 
of the Toquima Range discharge. The data given in the following 
table show that the streams lose heavily as soon as they leave the 
mountains. That only a small part of this loss can be attributed to 
evaporation is shown by estimates based on two different kinds of 
observations. The area over which the water of a stream is dis- 
charged into the atmosphere by evaporation from the water surface, 
evaporation from the wetted ground bordering the stream, and 
transpiration from trees, bushes, and grass that grow along the stream 
and are fed by its water was rather definitely ascertained, and by 
estimating the rate of evaporation and transpiration the total dis- 
charge of the stream's water into the atmosphere was calculated. 
The distance between the highest point up the streamway to which 
a stream retreated during the day and the lowest point it reached at 
night was observed on several streams, and a rough estimate was 
made of the amount of water lost in this distance. This loss repre- 
sents approximately the difference between maximum evaporation 
and transpiration in the day time and minimum evaporation and 
transpiration at night and thus affords a rough measure of the total 
loss that can be attributed to discharge into the atmosphere. With 
the most liberal estimates that could be made both methods gave 
comparatively small results for discharge into the atmosphere and 
compelled the conclusion that by far the greater part of the water 
that is lost sinks into the ground and eventuaUy reaches the water 
table. 



80 



BIG SMOKY VALLEY. 













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GROUND- WATER INTAKE. 83 

According to the estimates given in the table, at the low-water 
stage in the fall of 1914 nine streams were yielding, water to the 
underground supply, between the points where measurements were 
made, at the rate of 2,640 acre-feet a year, or 70 per cent of their 
total flow, or at the average rate of 0.39 second-foot for each mile of 
their courses; at the high-water stage of April, 1915, six streams 
were likewise yielding at the rate of 3,965 acre-feet, or 41 per cent of 
their total flow, or at the average rate of 0.63 second-foot a mile; 
and at the rather high stage about July 1, 1915, nine streams were 
likewise yielding at the rate of 4,286 acre-feet, or 36 per cent of their 
total flow, or at the average rate of 0.65 second-foot a mUe. One of 
the heaviest contributions was from Belcher Creek, which on July 4, 
1915, was losing more than 2 second-feet in the course of a little 
over a mile. In the fall of 1913, Moore Creek, flowing through its 
natural channel, lost its last one-half second-foot of water in a dis- 
tance of about one-half mile, and Peavine Creek lost water at a rate 
also amounting to a considerable part of a second-foot per mile. 

The contributions to the underground reservoir from Kingston 
Creek and the Twin Rivers can not be well estimated, because most 
of the water of these streams is used for irrigation near the mouths of 
the canyons, but there is evidence that the contributions are large. 
Only about 200 acres are irrigated on the Kingston ranch. Even if 
the annual evaporation and transpiration from the irrigated land 
amount to 5 feet the disposal of the creek's water through these 
processes will amount to only 1,000 acre-feet a year. No definite 
data are at hand to show how continuously the water is diverted for 
irrigation on the Kingston ranch, but each time the ranch was 
visited nearly the entire stream was thus diverted. On October 1, 
1914, water was being applied to the ranch at an approximate rate 
of 5,039 acre-feet a year, and on June 30, 1915, it was being applied 
at an approximate rate of 9,520 acre-feet a year. It is safe to con- 
clude that more than one-half of the water of Kingston Creek, 
amounting to several thousand acre-feet a year, goes into the under- 
ground reservoir. 

From the data given above it is roughly estimated that the peren- 
nial streams of the Toyabe and Toquima ranges together contribute 
to the underground supply at an average rate of 15,000 to 30,000 
acre-feet a year. Most of the water that percolates from the peren- 
nial streams goes to the supply of the upper valley, but the large 
contributions by Peavine Creek go to the lower valley. 

CONTRIBUTIONS BY FLOODS FROM DRY CANYONS. 

AU the canyons occasionally carry water in large amounts, the evi- 
dences of which may remain long after the floods have passed, but 
the total quantity of water discharged into the valley by such floods 



84 BIG SMOKY VALLEY. 

is difficult to estimate. Some of the floods are very large and pro- 
duce impressive results, but they occur so rarely that the average 
amiual flood discharge is likely to be overestimated. These floods 
make heavy contributions to the underground supply where they 
flow over the gravelly upper parts of the alluvial slopes, but the 
largest are of such volume and velocity that they carry a great part 
of their water into the axial regions of the valley, where the soil is 
too dense to admit water readily or where the perpetual saturation 
of the ground prevents percolation. In the lower valley the floods 
that head in the mountains no doubt make larger contributions than 
the permanent streams, but in the upper vaUey the flood contribu- 
tions are of less relative importance. 

CONTRIBUTIONS BY UNDERFLOW. 

Since the canyons were cut they have been partly filled with porous 
rock waste through which water can percolate freely. Hence not 
all the water discharged by a canyon flows at the surface; a part 
percolates underground and joins the main body of ground water 
without coming to view. 

The existence of an underflow is demonstrated in many places 
where, owing to some underground obstruction, the water is com- 
pelled to return to the surface, producing swampy areas or sudden 
increases in the stream flow. Good examples of these conditions 
are found in Peavine and Cloverdale canyons, in certain sections of 
each of which the entire stream at low stages is below the surface. 
Many canyons contain small streams that disappear before they reach 
the valley, or merely springs or seeps at some places along their dry 
steam channels. These canyons generally have an underflow 
whose volume may be larger than is indicated at the surface. Wil- 
low and Blackbird canyons are good examples. In some of the 
canyons underflow is indicated only by certain kinds of trees, such 
as the birch. 

That there is an underflow from lone VaUey into Big Smoky 
Valley is proved by the appearance of water at the surface in the 
constricted part of the valley at Warm Spring and Black Spring 
(PI. II). As there is a considerable body of filil even in this con- 
stricted area it may be inferred that the water which appears at the 
surface is only a small part of the total underflow. If the constric- 
tion were a little less there would be no springs or other surface indi- 
cations of water, although the underflow would be the same. 

That a canyon which has no stream, spring, or indications of 
ground water may still carry an underflow has been shown by wells 
and shafts in Manhattan Canyon. Below the wide, flat floor of this 
dry canyon there is a deposit of gravelly rock waste ranging in depth 
from 30 or 40 feet near Manhattan to about 100 feet at the mouth 



GROUND-WATER INTAKE. 85 

of the canyon. This detrital deposit rests on slate bedrock and near 
the bottom contains gold in paying quantities. The many prospect 
holes that have been sunk to the rock floor in order to recover the 
auriferous gravels show that the lower few feet, as a rule, contains 
water which can be pumped in moderate quantities for sluicing. A 
part of this underflow may be derived from the pumpage out of the 
mines, but weUs are also obtained above the mines. 

Many of the smaller canyons have no permanent underflow, and 
wells sunk in them would find no water. But even these, if they 
contain detrital deposits, must at certain times conduct important 
amounts of rain and snow water underground. The rapidity with 
which the water of springs and streaans sinks into the ground in many 
of the canyons shows the porosity of the detrital material, and indi- 
cates that the water from rain or melting snow will also be readily 
absorbed. 

The quantity of water carried by the canyons as permanent or 
temporary underflow is certainly considerable, and this water is con- 
tributed to the main undergroimd supply with almost no loss. 

CONTRIBUTIONS BY PRECIPITATION IN THE VALLEY. 

The precipitation of hght showers in the valley is absorbed by the 
capillary pores of the soil and does not contribute to the underground 
supply, but the heavier rains produce streams or sheets of water that 
enter the earth wherever the soil is porous or fissured. The gravelly 
and sandy parts of the valley admit water readily, as is shown by the 
rapidity with which the streams from the mountains dwindle when 
they reach the valley. If 5 per cent of the precipitation in the valley 
joins the ground water the contribution from this source amounts to 
nearly 10,000 acre-feet a year in both the upper and the lower valley. 

CONTRIBUTIONS FROM BEDROCK. 

The rock formations in the mountains are so nearly impervious 
that they absorb only a small part of the water suppHed by rain and 
snow. The hmestone is compact but has some joints and solution 
channels that receive water and allow it to percolate far below the 
surface; the slate is hkewise compact but admits small amounts of 
water along some of its joints and cleavage planes; the granite, 
rhyoUte, and other eruptive rocks are somewhat porous near the 
surface, where they are weathered, but contain only a few joints and 
fracture zones that admit water to greater depths; the Tertiary sand- 
stone, conglomerate, and tuff have a more open texture and no 
doubt receive water more freely than the denser formations. On the 
whole the percolation into the bedrocks is unimportant, and except 
in a few fissures and solution channels the circulation through them 
is very sluggish. 



86 BIG SMOKY VALLEY. 

A small quantity of water, however, no doubt reaches the valley 
fill through passages in the bedrock. The water of the Spencer and 
Darrough hot springs appears to be of such origin. 

SUMMARY. 

Estimates based on a consideration of all available information in 
regard to intake lead to the conclusion that the contributions from 
all sources to the ground-water supply of Big Smoky VaUey amount 
to several tens of thousands of acre-feet a year. Most of this supply 
is in the upper valley but a considerable part is in the lower vaUey. 

GROUND-WATER DISCHARGE. 

PROCESSES AND AREA. 

The contributions of water to the underground reservoir are bal- 
anced by losses from this reservoir. The losses occur chiefly through 
the return of the ground water to the surface but in smaller part 
through percolation out of the basin by way of underground passages. 
The return water reaches the surface by flowing from springs or by 
rising through the capillary pores of the soil or the roots and stems of 
plants ; it is all eventually evaporated. Ground water is returned to 
the surface over an area of about 160 square miles, or 100,000 acres, 
in the upper vaUey, and about 45 square miles, or nearly 30,000 acres, 
in the lower vaUey. The principal groups of springs and the areas of 
capillary discharge are shown in Plate II (in pocket). The principal 
leakage out of the basin is behoved to be at the west end of the lower 

valley. 

SPRINGS. 

CHAEACTEE AND DISTRIBUTION. 

In the largest mountains, such as give rise to perennial streams, 
springs are numerous, and many of them yield freely, but m the lower 
and more barren ranges springs are very scarce, as is shown by the 
maps (Pis. I and II), and nearly aU of them are small. Most of the 
mountain springs are fed by water that percolates near the surface 
and they are found at points where barriers of compact rock bring 
this water out of the gromid. They do not, of course, discharge any 
of the main body of ground water that is stored in the vaUey fiU but 
rather feed the streams that contribute to the main body. 

The vaUey springs, on the other hand, are, with few exceptions, 
found m low places where the upper surface of the mam body of 
ground water is practically at the surface of the land. They are 
caused by the overflow of the undergromid reservoir, which, already 
fuU, is constantly receiving new supplies. 

The mam west-side spring hue of the upper valley extends, with 
a smuous course, due to differences in the sizes of alluvial fans, from 



GROUND- WATER DISCHARGE. . 87 

the Vigus ranch to Wood's ranch, a distance of more than 30 miles, 
and includes innumerable springs that discharge a part of the 
copious underground supply received from the Toyabe Range. On 
the east side of the upper valley there is no spring line compara- 
ble to that on the west side, probably because the supply from the 
Toquima Range is smaller than that from the Toyabe Range, but 
numerous springs similar to those on the west side are found for a 
distance of 3 miles in the vicinity of the Charnock ranch, and a 
group of hot springs, called on the map Spencer Hot Springs, is 
situated on the east side near 'the north end of the valley. The 
lower valley, whose groimd-water contributions are smaller and less 
concentrated than those of the upper vaUey, has no spring line 
except such as is formed by a few water holes a short distance west 
of Millers. 

On the alluvial slope between the main west-side spring line and 
the mountains a few sprmgs which flow from fault scarps are appar- 
ently produced by impounding caused by dislocation of the vaUey 
fill. At San Antonio and the constricted outlet of lone Valley 
springs are produced by barriers of a different sort. 

The springs of Big Smoky Valley have some of the features char- 
acteristic of springs in other parts of the Great Basin.^ Hot springs 
are found at Darrough's ranch, on the flat east of McLeod's ranch, 
and near the north end of the valley; pool springs are found at the 
Charnock ranch, AHce Gendron's ranch, and other places; mound 
springs are found at the Charnock ranch, the Spencer Hot Springs, 
San Antonio, and other places. As in many other valleys, the prin- 
cipal spring pools are reported to extend to profound depths but on 
actual measurement are found to be only moderately deep. 

WEST-SEDE SPRING LINE. 

Daniels Springs. — The northernmost group of springs observed 
along the west-side spring line are on the Vigus ranch and the flat be- 
tween this ranch and the Daniels ranch. One-fourth mile north of 
the Daniels ranch house there is a spring that has been developed 
by ditching and now yields approximately 1 second-foot. (See also 
analysis, p. 154.) South of the Daniels ranch the spring line is inter- 
rupted by the large beach ridge in that vicinity. 

Gendron Springs. — South of the Daniels beach ridge the spring line 
passes through the Spaulding salt marsh, northeast of Frank Gen- 
dron's ranch, and thence swings southwestward to Mrs. Alice Gen- 
dron's ranch. Only small springs were observed on the salt marsh. 

Blue Spring, on the east side of the lower road, half a mUe north 
of Mrs. Gendron's house, is a pool about 75 feet in diameter, sur- 

1 Meinzer, O. E., Ground water in Juab, Millard, and Iron counties, Utah: U. S. Geol. Survey Water- 
Supply Paper 277, pp. 41-45, 124^126, 129-133, 1911. 



88 • BIG SMOKY VALLEY. 

rounded by tules, willows, cat-tails, and bufifalo-berry bushes. Its 
discharge consists largely of seepage and is not large. The pool was 
said to be very deep, but in a number of soundings that were made 
no depth greater than 16 feet was found. The water has about 
normal temperature. 

Springs yielding water of good quality (see analysis, p. 154) with 
an observed temperature of 61° F., issue at Mrs. Gendron's house, 
and there are also small springs at the margin of the barren flat a 
mile east of the house. 

McLeod Springs. — Numerous springs yielding water of good 
quahty are found in the meadow directly east of McLeod's house, 
some of them issuing from small deep pools. They give rise to seepage 
over a considerable area and to small streams where the water is 
collected in ditches. A flow of about 30 gallons a minute was meas- 
ured in a ditch leading from one group of these springs. In the spring 
nearest the house a temperature of 57 J ° F. was observed. A hot 
spring is reported to issue from a small mound on the barren flat less 
than a mile east of McLeod's house. 

Numerous seepage springs whose aggregate yield is considerable 
are found on the east side of the lower road about midway between 
McLeod's house and Millett. 

Millett Springs. — Springs similar to those on McLeod's and Mrs. 
Gendron's ranches are found at Millett, in a meadow extending east 
and southeast of Millett, and along the lower road leading northward 
from Millett. They yield small quantities of good water. (See analy- 
sis, p. 154.) There are also seepages along the edge of the barren flat 
less than a mile east of the road. 

Jones Springs. — Springs similar to those already described issue 
on both sides of the main road for a distance of a mile in the vicinity 
of the Jones ranch. None of them are large, but in the aggregate they 
yield considerable water, much of which evaporates without forming 
definite streams. 

Rogers Springs. — ^A spring directly east of the house at the Rogers 
ranch yields several gallons a minute at its low stage in the fall, the 
water being of good quality (see analysis, p. 154) and issuing at a 
temperature of 54° F. In the large meadow that extends south, 
east, and north-northeast from the ranch house there are many other 
springs, which are generally small but together yield much water, 
especially in the early part of the season. 

Moore Lake Spring. — ^A small but definite spring, which, in Sep- 
tember, 1913, yielded about a gallon a minute, emerges on the north- 
west shore of Moore Lake, at the base of the small modern strand 
(PL II in pocket). Although the soil in the environs of the spring is 
intensely alkaline, as is shown by the an alysis on page 161, and the water 
in the lake is rendered brown by the dissolved sodium carbonate, the 



GROUND- WATER DISCHARGE. 89 

spring water, whicli boils up from the sand without coming much in 
contact with the soil, is remarkably pure, as is shown by the analysis 
on page 154. The temperature of the water is 51° F. 

Logan Springs. — No springs except the one at Moore Lake were 
found between the Rogers beach ridge and the Logan ranch. At 
Mrs. Logan's house and along a belt extending southwestward from 
her house there are many small springs similar to others along the 
spring line that have already been described. The spring at the 
house, which is typical of the group, yields a small supply of good 
water (see analysis, p. 154) at a temperature of about 58° F. A httle 
gas escapes with the water. 

DarrougJi Hot Springs. — The most notable group of springs along 
this remarkable spring line is at the Darrough ranch. The water of 
most of these springs is at temperatures far above the normal for 
this region. The water from the largest springs is discharged with 
great amounts of steam, and its temperature after discharge ranges 
up to 198° F., showing that the water is above the boihng point 
before it escapes from the ground. The principal developed spring 
yields about one-third second-foot, and the combined yield of the 
various springs in this vicinity amounts to more than 1 second-foot. 
Algae of brown and white color grow freely in the hot water, the 
white ones having been observed in water at 180° F. Calcareous 
material is deposited in rather meager amounts, sodium carbonate 
and the black stain which it produces being more in evidence. Some 
hydrogen sulphide gas also escapes. The analysis given on page 154 
shows that the water is not highly mineralized although containing 
more dissolved matter than the other waters along the spring hne that 
were analyzed. 

The water issues from bowldery fill but probably comes originally 
from the underlying rock, the heat being due either to igneous 
intrusion or to faulting that opened deep fissures, or to both causes. 
Less than 100 feet from the main hot spring and at a level a few feet 
higher there is a small spring that issues at a temperature of only 61° 
F., which is almost the normal temperature for this region. This 
spring is significant in showing that the supply of the hot springs is 
derived from a distinctly different source than the ordinary spring 
water. 

A well-appointed hotel and bathhouse are maintained at these 
springs for the accommodation of visitors, by many of whom the 
water is used medicinally. 

Moore Springs. — Some of the largest springs along the spring line 
are east of the main road on Moore's ranch. Several springs at the 
house and within a short distance south of the house were, in Sep- 
tember, 1913, together supplying between 2 and 3 second-feet and 
much water was escaping at other points on the ranch. The observed 
temperatures ranged between 53° F. and 59^° F. 



90 BIG SMOKY VALLEY. 

Small springs, mai'kiiig the position of the spring line, are found at 
the schoolhoiise three-fourths mile north of Moore's house, and at 
points respectively 1^ and 2 miles south-sontheast. 

Wood Springs. — Tlie southernmost springs of the west-side spring 
line are at Wood's ranch and are of the general character of the other 
springs along this line. They yield small quantities of good water. 

FAULT-SCARP SPRINGS. 

The escarpments west of Bowman's, Mi*s. iVlice Gendi'on's, and 
McLeod's ranches give rise to springs and seeps and support water- 
kn4ng hushes and grasses. The principal spring at the Bo\nnan scarp 
jdelds a large part of one second-foot, and several <^f the springs at the 
Gench-on scarp together jiold a small stream of water of good quahty 
(see analysis, p. 154), but the other springs are small. 

The ground water, moving down the slope through hm-ied stream 
gravels, has apparently been impounded by the faidting movement, 
which has probably thrust imper^^ous, clayey deposits across its 
path. Tlie impounding is siifliciently effective to bring the water to 
the sm'face and to cause some overflow, but probabl}'" most of the 
water passes the barrier ^^'ithout coming to the surface. 

Gillman Spring, between Crooked and Globe creeks, 3 miles north of 
Schmidtlein's ranch, issues from gravelly valley till just east of a 
ledge of limestone that forms the margin of the mountains in that 
locality. Tlie facts that it is near the limestone ledge, that it is in 
hue with one of the pronunent scarps of the region (PI. I) , and that it 
is in an exposed position high above the main shallow-water area and 
remote from any canyons that coidd supply seepage from the moun- 
tains, indicate that this spring is situated on a faidt along wliich the 
water rises, probably from solution channels in the limestone. Its 
flow is said to fluctuate considerably with the season. It was about 
two-fifths of a second-foot on September 29, 1914, apparently about 
the same on April 26, 1915, and about three-lifths of a second-foot on 
June 30, 1915. (See pp. 80, 82.) The temperatm-e of the water on 
September 29 was 54° F. 

SPENCER HOT SPRINGS. 

The hot springs on the east side of the valley, near the north end, 
are shown in Plate II and figure 6 and are described in part on 
page 50. The water issues at a number of places as small but definite 
springs and as indefinite seepage in a belt nearly a mile long adjacent 
to low ridges that belong to the Toquima Range. Tlie springs are all 
small, the flow from the main spring being only 6 gallons per minute, 
but the total discharge of the area, including the seepage immediately 
disposed of by evaporation, is greater than would appear on casual 
observation. 



GROUND- WATER DISCHARGE. 91 

The temperature of the water ranges from about normal at the 
East Spring (fig. 6) to 144° F. at the Main Spring. The temperature 
of the North and Center springs (fig. 6) is 117° F. The water con- 
tains more dissolved matter than that of Darrough Hot Springs, but it 
is not excessively mineralized. (See analysis, p. 154.) Some calcium 
carbonate is no doubt precipitated by the release of carbon dioxide as 
soon as the water reaches the surface and is therefore not shown in 
the analysis. Some hydrogen sulphide also escapes from the water, 
and black material, probably a sulpliide, is deposited. 

The high temperatures of the water and the exposures of limestone 
and partly disintegrated crystalline rock below the eruptive rocks, 
which compose the greater part of the ridges adjacent to the springs, 
indicate that the water heads in the bedrock and may come from 
considerable depths. 

CHARNOCK SPRINGS. 

For a distance of about 3 miles along the base of the alluvial slope 
in the vicinity of the abandoned Cliarnock ranch there are numerous 
springs resembhng those along the west-side spring fine and appar- 
ently representing an undeveloped east-side spring fine. Near the 
north end of the group are several mound springs of small discharge 
(p. 50). Farther south there are many pool springs surrounded by 
rushes and containing clear water in which algae are growing. The 
spring at the cabin near the south end of the group is a pool about 
20 feet in diameter and 10 feet deep, yielding several gallons per 
minute of water of good quality (see analysis, p. 154) and about norinal 
temperature. The largest spring observed is one-half mile northeast 
of the cabin and consists of a pool about 20 feet in diameter and 20 
feet deep from which flows about a second-foot of water at a temper- 
ature of 80° F. The travertine deposits (p. 61) and possibly the 
well-developed mounds (p. 50) also suggest thermal conditions. 

SAN ANTONIO SPRINGS. 

At the abandoned stage station of San Antonio the ground water 
comes to the surface, giving rise to a group of small springs and other 
shallow-water phenomena. As this station is on a sloping surface 
650 feet above the main shallow-water area of the lower valley and 
400 feet above Midway, where the water table is 124 feet below the 
surface (PI. II, in pocket), it is inferred that there is here an under- 
ground barrier which impedes the sinking of the ground water that 
is contributed in large amounts by Peavine Creek and other sources 
north of San Antonio and that is moving slowly southward. This 
barrier may be formed by Tertiary strata such as outcrop a short dis- 
tance east of SanA ntonio or merely by a dense layer of Pleistocene fill. 



92 BIG SMOKY VALLEY. 

SPRINGS AT THE MOUTH OF lONE VALLEY. 

At the mouth of lone Valley, 6 miles west of Cloverdale, there are 
two smaU springs, known as Warm Spring and Black Spring (PI. II, 
in pocket), and in October, 1913, a small stream (10 gallons per minute 
was measured), suppHed entirely by ground-water seepage, was 
flowing in a deep recently cut guUy in the vicinity of Warm Spring. 
The analysis given on page 154 shows that the water of Warm 
Spring is of fairly good quahty. This spring is improperly named, 
as the temperature of its water is only 55° F., or about the normal 
for this region. Black Spring probably derives its name from the 
black stains in the surrounding soil produced by the sodium carbonate 
in the water. 

SPRINGS IN THE SOUTHERN PART OF THE LOWER VALLEY. 

The large shallow-water area of the lower vaUey does not contain a 
single true spring, in which respect it is in strikmg contrast to the 
shallow-water area of the upper valley, which is frmged with a 
countless number of springs. A short distance below MiUers the 
ground water stands very near the surface, and the water table is 
in a few places exposed by shallow natural or artificial excavations, 
as at Millers Pond and at the French well (PL II, in pocket), but no 
hole was found from which the water flows. 

DISCHARGE FROM SOIL AND PLANTS. 

PROCESSES. 

By discharge from soil is meant the elevation of water by the force 
of capillarity through the minute openings in the soil, from the water 
table to the land surface, and its conversion at the surface into atmos- 
pheric vapor by the process of evaporation. The rise of groimd 
water through capiUary openings in the soil is a process entirely 
different from the flow or seepage from springs. The latter is due to 
the force of gravity, the water being returned to the surface by 
hydraulic pressure; the former is due to the force of molecular 
attraction between soil and water acting against gravity. The 
seepage from a spring may be so small that it evaporates without 
forming any stream, but if this seepage were protected from evapora- 
tion and were allowed to coUect it would form a small stream or pool. 
On the other hand, no stream or pool is ever formed from ground 
water that rises by capillarity because the water molecules are held 
by the soil molecules until they are released by evaporation. If by 
any means evaporation is prevented the entire process stops and there 
is no more loss of ground water. Tlie process is the same as that 
which takes place in the wick of a kerosene lamp. 



GROUND- WATER DISCHARGE. 93 

Discharge from the main body of gromid water below the water 
table is also effected by some kinds of plants, which absorb the water 
through their roots, elevate it to their leaves and other parts above 
ground, and thence send it into the atmosphere as vapor. The dis- 
charge from plants is known as transpiration. The roots do not need 
to extend into the zone of saturation, but may absorb the capillary 
moisture above the water table. The discharge by plants differs 
from the inorganic process in being less definitely limited in the depth 
from which it may hft water. 

CRITERIA. 
KINDS OF CRITERIA. 

The areas in which discharge from soil or plants is taking place 
can be determined by observing (1 ) the moisture of the soil and the 
position of the water table, (2) the appearance of soluble salts at the 
surface and the distribution of these salts in the soil, and (3) the 
distribution of plants of certain species that feed on ground water. 

MOISTURE OF SOIL AND POSITION OF WATER TABLE. 

The water table is the surface below which the ground is saturated. 
From it the water rises in the capillary openings to definite heights, 
which are determined by the texture of the soil and other conditions. 
Except in very fine grained material this capillary rise is less than 
10 feet. Inorganic capillary discharge can take place only where the 
water table is so near the surface of the ground that the capillary 
water rises within reach of atmospheric evaporation. 

Where the soil is moist at the surface, or even within a few inches 
of the surface, appreciable capillary discharge may be suspected unless 
the moisture can be accounted for by recent rains, the flow of a 
stream or irrigation ditch, the seepage from a spring, or some other 
cause. In such a place a test can be made by boring or digging a 
hole. If the surface moisture is due to capillary rise, the soil wiU be 
moist in the entire section to the water table, the amount of moisture 
gradually increasing with the depth. When the water table is reached 
water wiU seep into the hole and will stand in it at a definite level. 
If this water is withdrawn, a new supply will seep in until the hole is 
again filled to the original water level. As the capillary rise is generally 
less than 10 feet the apphcation of this test as a rule involves only a 
moderate amount of labor. Where the soil is very fine grained, how- 
ever, the difficulties may be greater and the results less definite than 
elsewhere, because the capillary rise may be considerably more than 
10 feet and the material may be too dense to allow seepage into the 
hole even when the hydrostatic level has been reached. 

Such tests give the most reliable results in the fall after a long 
period of drought and intense evaporation, when there is least inter- 



94 BIG SMOKY VALLEY. 

ference by moisture derived from the sui'face. In this season allow- 
ance must, however, be made for the normal seasonal lowering of the 
water table whereby areas that discharged earher in the year are no 
longer within the capillary range. In such areas no moisture is 
visible at the surface, and the boring may reach a depth of several 
inches or even a few feet before the moist zone is encountered, although 
other surface indications may show that there has recently been 
capillary discharge. When in a dense soil the zone of capillary 
moisture retreats from the surface and probably also when the 
potential evaporation is considerably greater than the actual capillary 
rise in such soil, the soil near the surface will become dry and will 
shrink greatly so that huge cracks are formed. The efficacy of sun 
cracks in disposmg of soil moisture has been demonstrated in dry- 
farm experiments, and there is Httle doubt that in the shaUow-water 
tracts they are effective in disposing of ground water. 

It is not always necessary to bore a hole to determine the position of 
the water table, as in many localities the desired information can be 
obtained from springs, water holes, or other natural or artificial 
excavations. 

SOLTJBLE SALTS. 

When ground water evaporates it deposits at the surface the salts 
which it held in solution and which form powdery efflorescence, white 
crusts, or crystals of salt attached to the stems of plants and other 
objects. Sodium carbonate also produces a characteristic brown dis- 
coloration of the soil. The visible salt deposits are valuable as a 
criterion because they give concrete evidence that water has been 
discharged into the atmosphere. Like each of the other criteria it 
must be applied with discretion and must from time to time be 
checked by determinations of the position of the water table. Al- 
though salt visible at the surface generally indicates recent gromid- 
water discharge, it may be produced by the evaporation of water from 
other sources, such as springs, wells, streams, irrigation ditches, or 
merely the soil moisture derived from recent rains. Play as that do 
not have shallow water do not as a rule show salt deposits at the sur- 
face, even though they are the beds of desiccated lakes. 

The salts at the surface are readily redissolved and may be carried 
back into the ground. Hence the appearance of the surface in any 
given locality may differ at different seasons, and ground water is 
discharged in places where no salt is visible. Analyses show that as a 
general rule where ground water is evaporating the soil contains large 
quantities of salts and the salts are concentrated near the sm'face; 
whereas outside the areas of ground-water discharge the soil does 
not contain much soluble material, and the quantity present in- 
creases from the surface downward. There are, however, many ex- 
ceptions to this general rule. 



GROUND- WATER DISCHARGE. 95 

VEGETATION.i 

Ground-water discharge is shown with considerable fidehty by 
plants of certain species that are found almost exclusively in shallow- 
water districts. Of course no species can be relied upon as an infal- 
hble indicator, for any of them will grow under conditions that closely 
resemble those in the shaUow-water areas, such as alkah land kept 
constantly wet by irrigation water. The evidence afforded by plants 
must be used discreetly in connection with corroborative evidence and 
must be checked by borings to determine the position of the water 
table. Moreover, the plants differ somewhat in different regions and 
are not the same in Big Smoky Valley as in some other valleys, so that 
criteria developed in one valley must not be too freely apphed in 
another. 

With respect to their relation to the water table the dominant 
native plants of Big Smoky Valley can be divided into three groups: 
(1) Those which utilize the water derived from below the water table 
and are found almost exclusively in shallow-water areas, (2) those 
which utilize water from below the water table where it is available 
but are not confined to shallow-water areas, and (3) those which do 
not utilize water from below the water table and habitually grow in 
areas too far above it to be affected by ground water. 

Salt grass (Distichlis spicata) is the most common and reliable indi- 
cator of shallow ground water in Big Smoky Valley. The wild grass 
in the better type of hay meadows also no doubt utilizes ground water, 
but it will not endure as much alkah as the salt grass. 

The succulent alkah-resistant bush often called samphire (Spiro- 
stachys occidentalis) is less common than salt grass, but it is equally 
rehable as an indicator of shallow water. 

The buffalo-berry bush (ShepJierdia) is abundant in the shallow- 
water area of the upper valley and was also observed in some of the 
canyons that carry underflow. 

Giant reed grass (Phragmites communis) is found in many places in 
the main shallow-water area of the lower valley, but was not seen 
except where the ground water is near the surface. Giant rye grass 
(Elymus condensatus) is abundant at the Rye Patch, in Ralston 
Valley, where it indicates shallow water. 

Rabbit brush, or broom sage (Chrysothamnus graveolens), is one of 
the most common plants m the shallow-water areas of Big Smoky 
Valley. It prefers the parts of these areas that have some drainage, 
but also grows in very alkaline soil and is a fairly rehable indicator of 
shallow water. 

Big greasewood {Sarcohatus vermiculatus) is abundant in the shaUow 
water areas, where it no doubt receives a part of its supply from the 

1 The plant species mentioned ia this report were, with a few exceptions, identifled by Dr. P. B. 
Kennedy, botanist, Nevada Agricviltural Experiment Station, but he is not responsible for the field 
interpretations. 



96 BIG SMOKY VALLEY. 

maiii body of ground water, but it is not confined to these areas. It 
grows extensively in the sand hills in or near the shallow-water areas 
and in the zone between the shallow-water areas and the upland areas 
of atriplex and little greasewood (PI. II), generally where the depth 
to the water table is less than 50 feet. Its roots go deep, and it is 
beheved to feed on ground water wherever it has opportunity. 
According to Mr. CahiU, of the United States Forest Service, men pros- 
pecting for water in the gulches near Tonopah in the early days of 
that camp considered the presence of this bush as one of the most 
favorable signs, and its roots go to depths of more than 20 feet in 
order to get ground water. In the zone of intermediate vegeta- 
tion, where the depth of water is moderate, the greasewood probably 
obtains a part of its supply from the main body of ground water; but 
because of the uncertainty on this subject and the indefiniteness of 
the greasewood boundaries this zone has not been included in Plate 
II with the areas of ground-water discharge. 

Birch trees are numerous in the canyons and there is ample evi- 
dence that their distribution indicates the distribution of shallow 
water in the mountain regions, but these trees are not found in the 
alkaline shallow-water areas in the vaUey. Willow and cottonwood 
trees also live largely on ground water. Cottonwoods can endure 
much alkali, but wUlows favor localities with some dramage. Wild 
roses likewise grow only in places with abimdant water and not much 
alkali. 

The iodine weed (Suaeda torreyaria) grows in alkaline soil and is 
generally found where more than an ordinary supply of moisture is 
available, but in Big Smoky Valley it appears not to be a reliable 
indicator of shallow gromid water, as it grows in places that are far 
above the water table, especially in the southwestern part of the 
lower valley, where it was seen in the midrained areas on the land- 
ward side of the beach ridges and elsewhere. 

The tall shrubby salt bush (Atriplex torreyi) is not common in Big 
Smoky Valley but grows in a few localities. It can endure con- 
siderable alkali and is generally fomid in low places having more 
than an ordinary supply of moisture, but it is not a reliable indicator 
of shallow water. 

The spiny salt bush (Atriplex confertif olia) , which, in parts of Utah 
and Nevada is known as shadscale, is the most abundant and widely 
distributed species in Big Smoky VaUey. It is the dominant plant 
on the large areas represented by the upper and middle parts of the 
alluvial slopes which are very arid and have a soil nearly devoid of 
humus. It commonly grows far above the water table and has no 
connection with it. 

The little greasewood (Sarcobatus haileyi) is commonly associated 
with Atriplex confertifolia and is characteristic of arid slopes and 



GROUND- WATER DISCHARGE. 97 

plains that lie too high above the water table to be influenced by 
ground water. Its appearance is extremely dry and lifeless, espe- 
cially during the long autumn drought. 

Common sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) is found chiefly in the 
intermediate zone near the base of the alluvial slopes, where there 
are better supplies of moisture from flood waters than on the higher 
parts of the slopes and where the soil does not contain excessive 
quantities of alkali. It is found also along streams and in other 
localities that have good drainage but a better water supply than the 
ordinary desert. It occupies some of the land that is most promising 
for agriculture. So far as known sagebrush does not utilize water 
derived from the zone of saturation and is not an indicator of shallow 
ground water. 

White sage, sweet sage, or winter fat (Eurotia lanata) grows on the 
upland plains far above the water table. It was observed in especial 
abimdance in the southeastern part of the lower valley and in lone 
VaUey. 

The interior of large playas, such as the Millett and McLeans flats, 
are entirely barren over extensive areas (PL II). The inability of 
plants of any species to exist in these areas shows exceptionally 
adverse conditions, but it is not an indication of ground-water dis- 
charge, for barrenness is as characteristic of some of the flats having 
water at considerable depths as of those having shallow water. 
Whether a barren flat belongs to the deep-water or shaUow-water 
type can be determined by the character of the vegetation that 
fringes it and by the other criteria that have been given. Distinct 
indicators of shallow water, such as Distichlis spicata and Spiro- 
stachys occidentalis, which characterize the fringe of the Millett, Moore 
Lake, and McLeans flats, are not found in the fringe of the playa in 
Alkali Spring Valley or the small flats in the vicinity of Seyler Peak 
and between Midway and Cloverdale, where the ground water lies at 
considerable depth. At the margins of these small flats the vege- 
tation consists almost exclusively of shadscale (Atriplex conferti- 
folia), but at the margin of the playa in Alkali Spring Valley there is 
considerable greasewood {Sarcobatus vermiculatus) , which is not here 
supplied from the zone of saturation unless it is able to draw the 
groimd water from a depth of 50 feet. 

AREAS OF DISCHARGE. 

Except for tracts containing plants of uncertain significance such 
as greasewood, the areas of ground-water discharge can be shown on 
a map with nearly as much precision as rock outcrops. In Plate II 
(in pocket) these areas are indicated for Big Smoky Valley, but the 
shaUow-water tracts in the mountains are not shown. The bounda- 

46979°— wsp 423—17 7 



98 BIG SMOKY VALLEY. 

ries are most sharply defined where the angle between the water table 
and the land surface is relatively large and the transition from shallow- 
water to deep-water conditions is rapid ; they are least definite where 
the angle is very shght and there is a wide transition zone in which 
capillary water may be discharged in the spring, when the water table 
stands high, but not in the faU, when it stands low, and in which 
capillary water may be discharged m places where the soil is fine 
grained and of high capillary range but not in places where the soil is 
coarser. In these wide transition zones the two types of vegetation 
are intermingled, the shaUow-water species gradually yielding to the 
others in the direction of deeper water. Salt grass and samphire are 
practically confined to the areas of capOlary discharge, rabbit brush 
persists somewhat farther, and big greasewood grows in association 
with sagebrush and shadscale far beyond the hmits of any other in- 
dication of ground water. 

The largest area of ground-water discharge is in the interior of the 
upper valley. It extends a distance of 40 miles, attains a maximum 
width of more than 8 miles, and covers a surface of about 160 square 
miles. (See PL II, in pocket.) Its northern extremity is only a few 
miles south of Spencer Hot Springs and its southern extremity is 
near Wood's ranch. In all this distance the process of ground-water 
evaporation is uniuterrupted except where the large beach ridges 
cross the axis of the valley. The northern and southern limits of the 
area are somewhat indefinite, owing to the very gradual increase in 
the depth to water along the axis of the valley. 

The shaUow-water area next in size occupies the lowest parts of the 
lower valley and extends from a short distance below Millers to a fine 
west of the Silver Peak Railroad (PI. II). It is about 17 miles long, 
5 miles in maximum width, and comprises about 45 square miles. 
The northeastern hmits of this area are indefinite because the increase 
in the depth to water in this direction is very gradual. 

A few other areas of discharge are found in Big Smoky Valley, but 
they are very small in comparison with the two large areas mentioned. 
They are at San Antonio, at the mouth of lone Valley, and at the Clo- 
verdale and Peavine ranches (PI. II). The last two are not essen- 
tially different from seepages farther up the canyons. The large areas 
occupy the two principal depressions of the valley and owe their ex- 
istence and size to the fact that the ground water, ever seekmg a level, 
comes to the surface where the surface is lowest. The small areas do 
not occupy depressions but are believed to owe their existence to un- 
derground barriers across the course of movement of the ground 
water. 

The water table crops out over a rather indefinite area in the 
vicinity of San Antonio, ground water being returned to the surface 



GROUND- WATER DISCHARGE. 99 

by capillary rise through the soil and by transpiration. At the ranch 
the presence of the water table is shown by springs and by a well in 
which the water stands only 4 feet below the surface. Over a wider 
area ground-water discharge is shown by the moist condition of the 
soil, the crusts of alkali, the black stains produced by sodium carbon- 
ate, and the abundant growth of salt grass and other plants that in- 
dicate shallow water. At the springs, where there is a sufficient cur- 
rent to prevent the accumulation of alkali, there are tules and water 
cress, and on a small spring mound, where the drainage is compara- 
tively good, wild roses grow luxuriantly. In front of the ruined 
ranch house there were in 1913 two healthy lombardy poplars and 
three box-elder trees growing without attention, obviously utihzing 
the supply of ground water. Beyond the area in which salt grass is 
found there is rabbit brush and big greasewood associated with sage- 
brush and shadscale (Atriplex confertifolia) . These four species are 
found beside a recently cut gully 10 feet deep, about a mile west of 
San Antonio. At the time this gully was seen, in September, 1913, 
it carried nearly one second-foot of water but it was not obvious 
whether this water came entirely from Peavine Creek or in part from 
ground-water seepage, nor whether the greasewood and rabbit brush 
were utilizing water from the zone of saturation or merely soil mois- 
ture suppUed from surface sources. The shallow-water conditions 
do not extend far north. The area along the axial draw was ex- 
amined from the Seyler Peak fiats to the road 2 miles north of San 
Antonio, and no evidences of ground-water discharge were found, 
the vegetation consisting chiefly of Atriplex confertifolia. The same 
is true of the areas along the distributaries of Peavine Creek where 
they are crossed by the Cloverdale road. 

The area of ground-water discharge at the mouth of lone Creek is 
obviously due to rock formations that hem in the outlet and bring 
a part of the underflow to the surface. Capillary discharge is taking 
place in the wide Pleistocene stream valley (pp. 46, 47, and fig. 5) from 
Black Spring to a point about 2 miles farther up the valley (PL II 
in pocket). The position of the water table is shown by Black and 
Warm springs, and more precisely by the small stream which, in Oc- 
tober, 1913, rose about one-half mile above Warm Spring in a recently 
cut gully and was supplied entirely by ground-water seepage. From 
Black Spring to about the point where the small stream rises the sur- 
face contains crusts of alkaU and black stains of sodium carbonate 
and the vegetation consists chiefly of salt grass, rabbit brush, big 
greasewood, and the tall saltbush (Atriplex torreyi). Near Warm 
Spring the guUy is only about 5 feet deep, and in October, 1913, 
water was drawn to the surface by capillarity. Near the source of the 
stream the gully was about 9 feet deep and the capillary water rose 



100 



BIG SMOKY VALLEY. 



only to a level 3 feet below the surface, but some salt grass was grow- 
ing in this place. Up the valley from this point the evidences of 
shallow water gradually disappear. Five miles above Warm Spring 
the ground in the stream valley was dry, but the vegetation consisted 
of big greasewood, the tall saltbush {Atriplex torreyi), and a small 
amount of rabbit brush. Tliese plants are somewhat ambiguous as 
indicators. They probably draw on the ground-water supply but 
may owe their presence to floods, the evidences of which were very 
distinct in the stream valley. A few miles farther upstream these 
species give way to Atriplex confertifolia, which predominates also 
on the dry bench lands. 

RELATION OF DISCHARGE TO WATER TABLE. 

A small amount of specific data on the relation of soil and plant 
discharge to the position of the water table in Big Smoky Valley in 
the fall of 1913 is given in the following table: 

Data relating to position of water table, capillary rise, and hinds of vegetation in areas oj 
ground-water discharge, Big Smoky Valley. 



Location. 



Date of 
observa- 
tion. 



Depth to 
water 
table. 



Capillary 
rise. 



Vegetation. 



Schmidtlein's well, 2| miles east of house. . 



Well on SW. J sec. 2, T. 15 N., R. 44 E 

Vigus ranch 

Indians' well, J mile west of house at Dan- 
iels's ranch. 

Alice Gendron's ranch well, J mile west of 
house. 

McLeod ranch well, nearest the house 

Millett well, \ mile northwest of store 

Playa 1 mile east of Millett 

Jones ranch well at house 

Jones ranch wiadmill, J mile south of house. 



Rogers ranch well, west of house 

Millett 's south ranch, i mile south of Rogers 

ranch. 
Barker ranch 



Crowell ranch, north well 

Crowell ranch well, at house . 



Well 11- miles sovitheast of Wood's ranch. 
Gully i mile above Warm Spring 



San Antonio. 



Well east of Millers Pond 

NE. -i sec. 30, T. 3 N., R. 40 E.. 

NE. } sec. 36, T. 3 N., R. 39 E. 

French well 

Desert well 



1913. 

Sept. 18 

Sept. 19 

S'eptr22' 

Sept. 11 

..do 

..do 

..do 

Sept. 29 
Sept. 10 

Sept. 27 

Sept. 10 

Sept. 26 

Sept. 10 

Oct. 9 



Oct. 
Oct. 



Sept. 7 

Oct. 8 
Oct. 9 

...do.... 
Sept. 1 
...do 



Feet. 
11.7 

17.4 
3.0 
6.5 

11.0 



19.0 
9.0 



4.5 
2.7 

2.7 
2.0 
10,0 



Feet. 
6.6 

8.1 

a 3.0 

6.0 



6 7.5 




14.0 




1.6 
9.0 


a 1.6 


2.5 
7.0 
6.0 


«2.5 
17.0 


12.0 




6.5 




11.4 





3.0 
6.0 



a 4.0 



12. 7 

a2.7 
O2.0 



Greasewood, salt grass, rab- 
bit brush. 

Sagebrush. 

Salt grass. 

Greasewood, salt grass, rab- 
bit brush, sagebrush. 

Greasewood. 

Salt grass, etc. 

Greasewood. 

Barren. 

Rabbit brush, salt grass, etc. 

Rabbit brush, salt grass, cul- 
tivated vegetables. 

Salt grass and other native 
grasses. 

Salt grass, willows. 

Sagebrush greasewood, rab- 
bit brush. 

Salt grass and other native 
grasses. 

Greasewood, sagebrush, wil- 
lows. 

Sagebrush. 

Salt grass, greasewood, rabbit 
brush, Atriplex torreyi. 

Salt grass, poi)lar, and box- 
elder trees, etc. 

Salt grass, sacaton. 

Salt grass, greasewood, rabbit 
brush. 
Do. 

Salt grass, samphire. 

Salt grass. 



« Capillary water reaches surface. 

6 Possibly lowered slightly by pumping witli windmill from a well near by. 

c Near margin of area of discharge. 



GROUND- WATER DISCHARGE. 101 

In the shallow-water areas the water table normally undergoes a 
seasonal fluctuation, due to differences in the rate of evaporation, on 
the one hand, and of recharge on the other. During the hot, dry 
months of summer and fall, when the contributions of ground water 
are hghtest, the losses by discharge into the atmosphere are heaviest. 
Consequently the water table is lowered, the capillary lift is generally 
increased, the areas of discharge are contracted, and the £ow of 
springs is diminished. The data given in the above table are based 
on observations made in September and October, when the water 
table was near its lowest level. 

Later in the fall, when evaporation becomes less intense, a gradual 
rise in the water table and increase in the flow of springs takes place 
even before there is any rain, the recovery being due not to greater 
increments but to smaller losses. In the early spring the recovery 
reaches its maximum, the water table being at the highest levels and 
the flow of springs most copious. 

The fluctuations of the water level in the weU at the house of F. J. 
Jones, on the west side of the road, nearly 3 miles south of Millett, are 
shown in the following table and in Plate XII. The data presented 
show the general law of annual fluctuation and the amounts of fluctua- 
tion at a typical pomt in the shaUow-water area during the period 
from September, 1913, to May, 1916. They show that the fluctuations 
in water level are not produced chiefly by the seasonal distribution of 
the precipitation but foUow closely the variations in temperature and 
humidity, which are the principal factors in determining the rate of 
evaporation. The rise in water level occurs largely during the season 
when the stream flow is least and the fall in water level largely during 
the season when the stream flow is greatest. Although this condition 
could be explained as due to differences in recharge by assuming a 
great lag in the water-level fluctuations, it is much more satisfactorily 
explained by differences m temperature and humidity. In short, the 
data indicate that the fluctuations in water level in the shallow-water 
area are produced by variations in discharge rather than by varia- 
tions in recharge, and, moreover, that ground-water discharge is quan- 
titatively important. During the summer the water table falls about 
2| to 3 feet. This faU imphes that if the formation contains 20 per 
cent of pore space at least 6 inches of water is removed during the 
period of decline. The water in this particular locahty is either dis- 
charged upward through the soil and vegetation or is removed by 
percola,tion in the direction of the playa to be brought to the surface 
in another locality. 



102 



BIG SMOKY VALLEY. 



Depth of water level below platform in the house well of F. J. Jones, 3 miles south of 

Millett. 

[F. J. Jones, observer.] 
Feet. 



Feet. 

June 1, 1915 8. 2 

Julyl, 1915 8.9 

Aug. 1, 1915 9.5 

Sept. 1, 1915 10.9 

Oct. 1, 1915 10. 3 

Nov. 1, 1915 9.3 



Dec. 1, 
Jan. 1, 
Feb. 1, 
Mar. 1, 
Apr. 1, 



1915. 
1916- 
1916. 
1916. 
1916. 



8.6 
8.3 
7.8 
7.3 
7.6 



Mayl, 1916 7. 



8.3 



Junel, 1916 

July 1, 1916 

Aug. 1, 1916 

Sept. 1, 1916 , 

Oct. 1, 1916 

Nov. 1, 1916 8. 8 

Dec. 1, 1916 8.2 



10.0 
10.9 
10.1 



Sept. 29, 1913 9.0 

Oct. 1, 1913 9.0 

Nov. 6,1913 8.5 

Dec. 4, 1913 8.2 

Jan. 12, 1914 8. 

Feb. 4, 1914 7.8 

Mar. 2, 1914 7.5 

Apr. 2, 1914 8.0 

May 3, 1914 8.1 

Aug. 1,1914 9.3 

Sept. 1, 1914 10.0 

Oct. 1, 1914 9.6 

Nov. 1, 1914 8.7 

Dec. 1, 1914 8.3 

Jan. 1, 1915 7.8 

Feb. 1, 1915 7.6 

Mar. 1,1915 7.5 

Apr. 1, 1915 7. 4 

Mayl, 1915 7.8 

At the low-water stage, when the mvestigation was made, the water 
stood withm a foot or two of the surface over only comparatively 
small tracts, at intermediate depths over considerably larger tracts, 
and near the limit of capillary rise over probably the greater part of 
the areas of discharge. There were also large areas which at the time 
of the investigation were just above the limits of capillary rise, but 
which were supporting shallow-water plants and bore evidence of 
coming within these limits during a part of the year. 

RATE OF DISCHARGE. 

The rate of ground-water discharge depends on the condition of the 
atmosphere, the character of the soil, the capillary lift, and the nature 
of the vegetation. 

The most valuable series of observations and experiments on the 
rate of discharge of ground water from soil and vegetation were made 
in Owens Valley, Cal., in 1908 to 1911, by C. H. Lee.^ In the experi- 
ments made with tanks filled with soil Mr. Lee obtained the results 
shown in the following table. By applying these results to the part 
of Owens Valley that was investigated he determined the average 
rate of loss from soil and vegetation throughout the area of ground- 
water discharge to be equivalent to a depth of water of a Uttle less 
than 2 feet a year.^ 

1 Lee, C. H., An intensive study of the water resources of a part of Owens Valley^ Cal. : U. S. Geol. Survey 
Water-Supply Paper 294, 1912. 

2 Idem, p, 131. 













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U S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

DEPTH TO WATER LEVEL IN FEET (Solid lint) 



WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 423 PLATE 
PRECIPITATION IN INCHES 





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MEAN MONTHLY TEMPERATURE IN DEGREES FAHRENHEIT 

(Dashed line) 

o S S S g 

MEAN MONTHLY RELATIVE HUMIDITY IN PERCENTAGES 



■..-™, ™vjiiinuY HtLATIVE HUMIDITY IN PERCENTAGES 
{Short-dashed line) 

DIAGRAM SHOWING FLUCTUATIONS OF THE WATER LEVEL IN THE^WELL^^OFF J. ,ONES AND THEI 

PRECIPITATION, TEMPERAI uni^, 



R RELATION TO 



GROUiirD- WATER DISCHAEGE. 



103 



Rate of grmtnd-water discharge from soil and vegetation in tank experiments made near 

Independence, Cal. 

[ByC.H. Lee.i] 



Average 
depth to 
ground- 
water 
surface in 
soil tank. 


Total 
depth of 

water 
evaporated 
in one year 
(1910-11). 


Condition of surface. 


Feet. 
1.28 
1.34 
1.94 
2.92 
3.92 
4.49 
4.94 


Inches. 
39.95 
43.10 
42.67 
30.46 
23.31 
22.51 
7.91 


Sand without vegetation. 

Sod with good growth of salt grass. 

Do. 

Do. 
Sod with medium growth of salt grass. 
Sod with vigorous growth of salt grass. 
Sod with scattered growth of salt grass. 



The average temperature of the atmosphere is about 8° F. less at 
the Jones ranch, in the northern shallow-water area of Big Smoky 
Valley, than at Independence, Cal., in the shallow-water area in- 
vestigated by Mr, Lee, If the assumption that at the same tem- 
perature, in any given season of the year, evaporation from a water 
surface takes place at the same rate in Big Smoky Valley as in the 
Independence district, Cal., is applied to Lee's data,^ it is found that 
the difference of 8° F. makes a difference in the annual evaporation 
from a water surface of about one-fifth to one-fourth of the amount 
in the Independence district. By applying the same factor to 
evaporation from soil and vegetation the conclusion is reached that 
if the conditions of soil, vegetation, and depth to water were the 
same in the northern area of Big Smoky Valley as in the Independ- 
ence district the annual discharge would amount to about 1^ feet. 
Over a belt of the northern area of discharge paralleling the west 
margin the conditions are favorable for rapid discharge, but over 
much of the middle and eastern parts the rate of discharge is slow. 
The quantity is also diminished by the irrigation and flood waters 
that evaporate from this area, although this factor is to some extent 
balanced by the discharge through greasewood and other plants 
outside the area mapped. The data at hand seem to indicate that 
the average annual loss of ground water from the area of discharge 
in the upper valley is not less than one-half foot and not more than 
1 foot, in other words, that the quantity of water discharged from the 
main body of ground water in the upper valley is between 50,000 
and 100,000 acre-feet a year, or between about 8 and 17 per cent of 
the precipitation on the north basin. So many uncertain factors are 
involved, however, that this estimate may be considerably in error. 
It is estimated on the basis of relative areas that about 26 per cent 

ilice, C. H., An intensive study of the water resources of a part of Owens Valley, Cal.: U. S. Geol. 
Survey Water-Supply Paper 294, pp. 119-122, 1912. 
2 Idem, pi. 10. 



104 BIG SMOKY VAIXEY. 

of the discharge occurs north of the Daniels beach ridge, about 57 
per cent between this ridge and the Rogers beach ridge, and about 
17 per cent in the area still farther south (PI. I). 

In the lower valley the average temperature is considerably higher 
than in the upper valley and over about one-third of the area of 
discharge, chiefly in the locahty between Millers Pond and the 
Desert well, the porous soil and the sUght depth to the water table 
indicate heavy loss of ground water, but over the clayey parts of 
the barren tract, which occupies about 7,000 acres, and over much 
of the western part of the area, even where there is some vegetation, 
the discharge is small and in some places practically negligible. 
The data at hand seem to indicate that the aggregate amount of 
ground water discharged from the lower valley is between 10,000 
and 30,000 acre-feet a year, or between about 2 and 5 per cent of 
the precipitation on the south basin. 

It should be remembered that the estimates of both contributions 

and discharge are based on inadequate data, that only a part of the 

total supply can be recovered through weUs, and that if the weUs 

are not widely distributed the recoverable part wiU form only a 

small proportion of the total supply. It should also be remembered 

that the estimates are less certain for the lower than for the upper 

valley, 

WATER LEVELS. 

Over areas of 160 square miles in the upper valley and 45 square 
miles in the lower valley the water table, or upper surface of the 
main body of ground water, is generally within 10 feet of the surface 
of the ground. These shallow-water areas practically coincide with 
the areas of ground-water discharge, already referred to (pp. 97-100) 
and shown on Plate II. The northern area extends along the axis 
of the upper valley for a distance of about 40 miles from a point 
about 7 miles southeast of Spencer's ranch to a point less than a 
mile southeast of Wood's ranch, and is interrupted only by the 
large beach ridges near the Daniels and Rogers ranches. The 
southern area extends along the axis of the lower valley without 
interruption for a distance of 18 miles from a point 2| miles south- 
west of Millers to a point just west of the Silver Peak Railroad. 
The outhnes of these shallow-water areas were determined partly 
by examining weUs and boring holes to the water table, but more 
largely by interpreting sm'face indications of shallow water afforded 
by the moisture in the soil, the soluble salts at the surface, and 
certain species of native plants. (See pp. 93-97.) 

As a rule the water table rises from the shallow-water areas, 
where the ground water is discharged, toward the mountains, whence 
the principal contributions of ground water are received. The 
slope of the water table furnishes the dynamics that propel the 



WATER LEVELS. 



105 



ground water from its source to its outlet. The gradient of the water 
table is automatically adjusted by the amount of work that has to be 
done to transfer the water from the intake to the exit, and the amomit 
of work is determined by the quantity of water to be transferred and 
the resistance to percolation of the formation through which it is 
carried. Other things being equal, a steep gradient of the water 
table indicates an abundant water supply. 

In some places on the west side of the upper valley, where the con- 
tributions to the ground-water supply are large, the water table 
rises about as rapidly as the surface of the ground and hence is 
within 10 feet of the surface at points more than 100 feet above the 
flats. In general, however, the slope of the water table is much less 
than that of the land surface. 

The lines on Plate II showing depths to water of 50 and 100 feet, 
respectively, are based on determinations, from the topographic map 
and by the use of the hand level, of the slope of the land surface and 
on reasonable assumptions as to the slope of the water table. In the 
lower valley there are several comparatively deep weUs that give 
some control of the 50-foot and 100-foot Hues, but in the upper 
valley there are no weUs with water levels more than 20 feet below 
the surface. Although these lines are only forecasts and will with- 
out doubt be foimd to be considerably in error in some locahties, 
they are beheved to be of value in directing developments. 

According to the best estimates that can be made the areas with 
specified depths to water are as f oUows : 

Estimated areas having specified depths to the water table in Big Smohy Valley, Nev. 



Depth to water table. 


North 

basin 

(upper 

valley). 


South 

basin 

(lower 

valley). 


Total. 


Total areas: 

Less thanlO feet (alkali land) 


Acres. 
100,000 
170,000 
215,000 

70.000 
115,000 

45,000 


Acres. 
30,000 
70,000 
120,000 

40,000 
90,000 

20,000 


Acres. 
130 000 


Less than 50 feet 


240,000 
335 000 


Less than 100 feet 


Areas exclusive of alkali land: 

Less than 50 feet 


110,000 
9Q5 000 


Less than 100 feet 


Areas exclusive of alkali, gravelly, and sandy land: 

Less than 50 feet 


05,000 





The rate at which the depth of water increases in each direction 
from the ends of the large shallow-water area in the upper valley is 
uncertain. This uncertainty is due to the very gradual rise of the 
land surface. North of the shaUow-water area along the axis of the 
vaUey the gradient is so slight and the character of the vegetation 
changes so gradually that there is reason to beUeve that the water 
stands within 50 feet of the surface to a point some distance north 
of the Spencer Hot Springs and that even as far north as the Lincoln 
Highway it can easily be reached by drilling. At the south end 



106 BIG SMOKY VALLPY. 

of the shallow-water area the water table is about 5,640 feet above 
sea level, the barren flats in the vicinity of Seyler Peak are about 
5,700 feet above sea level, and the point where the divide crosses the 
axis of the valley (a short distance north of these flats) has an alti- 
tude of not much more than 5,700 feet above sea level. At San 
Antonio the water table appears at the surface 5,400 feet above sea 
level, or 300 feet lower than the Seyler Peak flats. From the vicinity 
of Wood's ranch to San Antonio the water table therefore descends 
about 240 feet. It probably rises for some miles before it begins 
to descend toward San Antonio. The large supply from Peavine 
Creek undoubtedly helps to keep up the water level, and it is not 
probable that the depth to water is very great anywhere along the 
axis of the valley between Wood's ranch and San Antonio. 

South of San Antonio the water level drops rapidly, and at Midway 
station, 11 miles southwest of San Antonio, it is 124 feet below the 
surface, 4,883 feet above sea level, or 520 feet lower than the water 
level at San Antonio. There are also sudden drops in the water 
level at the outlet of lone Valley and at the mouths of many of the 
canyons. 

In the abandoned Montezuma well, 10 miles south of Midway, the 
water stood 43 feet below the surface, according to rehable report, 
which would be 4,783 feet above the sea, or 100 feet below the water 
level at Midway. According to these data the average slope of the 
water table is nearly 50 feet per mile between San Antonio and 
Midway, and about 10 feet per mile between Midway and Montezuma 
well. 

In an abandoned well 4 miles southeast of the Montezuma well 
(PL II) the water level is 202 feet below the surface, or at an altitude 
distinctly lower than the water level at the Montezuma well. It can 
not be assumed that the ground water is draining southward, through 
the debris-fiUed gap between Lone Mountain and the San Antonio 
Range, into Alkah Spring Valley, because the water table in that 
valley stands considerably higher, as is shown in the table on page 148. 
Neither is it reasonable to assume that the San Antonio Range and 
the broad slope adjacent to it do not contribute enough ground water 
to keep the water table incHned toward the valley. It may be, 
however, that the supply from the San Antonio Range is so much 
smaller than that which comes from the north and northwest that the 
axial trough of the water table is crowded some distance east from 
the axis of the valley itself. 

In the well of the Desert Power & MiU Co., at MOlers, the water 
level is about 38 feet below the surface, or 4,750 feet above the sea. 
This is about 30 feet below the water level at the Montezuma well and 
indicates a southwestward gradient in the water table between these 
two points of somewhat less than 10 feet to the mile. 



WATER-BEASING CAPACITIES. 107 

At the French well, situated only slightly above the level of 
the playa, which is 4,720 feet above the sea, the water level is almost 
at the surface. It is therefore approximately 60 feet below the 
water level at the Montezuma well and approximately 30 feet below 
the water level at Millers. According to these levels the gradient 
of the water table is about 6 feet to the mile between the Montezuma 
well and the French weU and about 4 feet to the mile between Millers 
and the French well. Some depression of the water table in the 
vicinity of Millers has no doubt been produced by heavy pumping 
in that vicinity in recent years, but there is no indication that the 
depression has been very great. 

On the two sides and at the southwest end of the shallow-water 
area of the lower valley the water table does not, as a rule, have much 
gradient, and the depth to water, therefore, increases rapidly away 
from the flat. This condition is in striking contrast to that on the 
west side of the upper valley, the difference being due to the great 
difference in the amounts of water contributed by the bordering 
mountains. In the dug well on the south side of the railroad at Blair 
Junction the water stood, when measured on September 2, 1913, 
exactly 100 feet below the surface, or at a level only about 4,700 feet 
above the sea, and probably a httle below the level of the flat. This 
low level may be due to local depression caused by pumping from 
the radroad well at Blair Junction, or it may be due, at least in part, 
to leakage of the ground water westward into the basin occupied by 
Columbus Marsh. 

WATER-BEARING CAPACITIES. 

The coarse clean sand or grit derived from granite is porous and 
yields water freely. The arkosic grit derived from rhyolite and other 
igneous rocks of fine grain also generally yields water freely, but it 
contains more fine material and when it disintegrates it becomes 
quite compact. The pebbles derived from the angular fragments 
resulting from the weathering of slate and limestone may produce 
porous deposits but the pores are likely to be sealed to some extent 
by the cementation of calcium carbonate. The sediments derived 
from the tuffs are largely fine silt and form dense deposits that wiU 
yield little water. The sediments derived from the other stratified 
Tertiary rocks are also in general unpromising as water producers. 

In the upper vaUey there are no weUs that have been pumped at 
a rate of more than a few gallons a minute, but the evidence fur- 
nished by the character of the rocks in the adjacent mountains and 
the character of the sediments as shown at the surface and in well 
sections indicates that in most places between the 100-foot Ime and 
the flat wells yielding moderately large supplies can be obtained. 
(See PI. II, in pocket.) The well drilled at the CroweU ranch was 



108 BIG SMOKY VALLEY. 

visited when the drill had reached the depth of 87 feet, to which depth 
the dr illin gs were nearly all coarse, clean sand or grit, composed 
chiefly of quartz grains but in part of fragments of granite, rhyohte, 
and slate. Large amounts of coarse sand were also reported iu the 
two wells of Frank Gendron (p. 59) and in other drilled wells. In 
the areas adjacent to mountains in which limestone and slate pre- 
dominate, as between Birch and Carsley creeks, the yields may aver- 
age less than in the areas of granitic sediments, but there is no 
reason to beUeve that even in these areas wells wHl be failures. 

The detritus underlying the upper parts of the alluvial slopes con- 
tains bowlders that would interfere seriously with drilling; that un- 
derlying the large central flat is probably chiefly fine material; but 
that underlying the lower parts of the slopes, where ground-water 
developments are the most promising, is of intermediate coarseness, 
and probably consists in most places of beds of sand or gravel alter- 
nating with layers of clayey material. Although the fill is deep in 
the upper valley, the results obtained in driUing operations in many 
other valleys of the same type indicate that the most valuable water 
supphes will probably be found within the first few hundred feet of 
the surface, but several wells sunk to considerable depths would be 
desirable to test for possible deep-seated artesian horizons. 

In the lower valley the conditions are less promising than in the 
upper valley because the fiill is shallower and contains more sedi- 
ments derived from tuffs and less derived from granite. However, 
there is evidence that in that part of the area having less than 50 
feet to water which lies northeast of the alkali area (PL II) the fill 
is deep enough to form a dependable ground-water reservoir. 

The well at Midway is 135 feet deep and ends in gravelly fiU; the 
Montezuma well was dug to a depth of 47 feet and ended in gravel; 
the well 4 miles southeast of the Montezuma well (PI. II) was dug 
to a depth of 202 feet and ends m gravelly fill. In the vicinity of 
Millers, at the edge of the mountains, the depth to rock is less. At 
the abandoned Kelsey station (2 miles from Goldfield Jvmction, on 
the Goldfield-Crow Spring road (PI. II), a well 90 feet deep ended in 
shale. The well of the Desert Power & MiU Co. is 63 feet deep, and 
the Belmont well is about 50 feet deep, but there is no definite in- 
formation as to whether these two weUs reached bedrock. 

The available data in regard to the yields of the wells in the area 
northeast of the alkali area of the lower valley are also rather 
favorable. 

The Desert Power & Mill Co. well is situated two-fifths mile north 
of the railway station at Millers, the top of the shaft or floor of the 
pump house being about 35 feet below the railway, or about 4,795 
feet above sea level. The shaft is 6 by 12 feet in cross section, is 
cased with heavy timber, and extends to a depth of 68 feet below 



WATEE-BEAKING CAPACITIES. 109 

the floor of the pump house, or about 63 feet below the surface of 
the ground. Most of the supply is said to come from the bottom 
of the well, but there is also a tumiel that furnishes water. The 
well is pumped with a 5-inch 2-stage Byron Jackson vertical cen- 
trifugal pump driven by a 20-horsepower motor connected with the 
electric line of the Nevada-California Power Co. On September 1, 
1913', the well was tested by pumping into a large calibrated tank at 
the miU. The pump was run at normal speed from 4 a. m. to 8 
a. m. ; it was stopped from 8 a. m. to 11.20 a. m., and again run 
from 11.20 a. m. to 2 p. m., when it was stopped a second time. 
The highest level to which the water rises in the well, according to 
Mr. C. H. Los Kamp, who is in charge of the pumping station, is 
43.2 feet below the floor of the pump house. At 11 a. m. the water 
stood 45.3 feet below the floor, at 12.10 p. m. it stood 58.3 feet below, 
and just before stopping the pump at 2 p. m. it stood 60.4 feet below. 
The pumpage from 12.26 p. m. to 1.29 p. m. was 25,225 gallons, or 
400.4 gallons per minute. The weU is pumped nearly one-half of the 
time and is reported to have supplied as much as 5,000,000 gallons, 
or about 15 acre-feet, in a month. 

The well of the Belmont MiUing & Development Co., situated a 
short distance west of the Desert Power & Mill Co. well (PI. II), is a 
shaft 6 by 12 feet in cross section, cased with lumber, and sunk to a 
depth of about 50 feet. Its normal water level is about 37.5 feet 
below the surface. The pump that is used has a capacity of about 
400 gallons per minute, but the yield of the weU, according to infor- 
mation given by Mr. James Morris, who is in charge of the pumping 
plant, is only about 90,000 gallons in 11 hours, or about 140 gallons 
per minute. 

The Montezuma weU, now abandoned, was used many years ago 
by freighters, who hauled ore to Austin from the Montezuma mine, 
near Goldfield, and was later used for a time by freighters operating 
between Tonopah and Manhattan. It was an uncased dug well, re- 
ported to end in gravel, and to yield generous supplies of good water. 
As many as 150 head of horses are said to have been watered from 
this well in one night. The Kelsey well is also said to have yielded 
amply for stock-watering purposes. The 135-foot dug well at Mid- 
way, also uncased, is reported to have been tested at 27 gallons per 
minute for 5 hours with a resultant lowering of the water level of 
about 7 feet. 

The well of WiUiam Kane, situated about 9 miles north-northwest 
of MiUers (PL II), was drilled to a depth of 700 feet and is lined with 
6-inch casing. It is said to pass through sandy or gravelly deposits, 
except near the bottom, where it penetrates 30 feet of 'limestone 
and quartzite." The first water, struck at a depth of 120 feet, did 
not rise above its original level, but a supply struck at 670 feet rose 



110 BIG SMOKY VALLEY. 

witllin 90 feet of the surface. According to Mr. Kane, the owner, 
a pump cylinder 4 J inches in diameter, placed 150 feet below the sur- 
face, was operated with a 24-uich stroke at the rate of 30 strokes per 
minute for four hours continuously without noticeably affecting the 
supply. The yield, measured by the miner's-inch method, is reported 
by Mr. Kane to have been 5 inches, or about 45 gallons per minute. 
In the southwestern part of the lower vaUey the ground-water pros- 
pects are unfavorable in several respects. The Tertiary formations 
appear to be near the surface and wells with large yields can probably 
not be obtained. There is a possibility of obtaining supplies by drill- 
ing deep into the Tertiary strata, but the prospect is too poor to make 
deep drilling advisable, at least until the more promising supplies 
from the Quaternary fill in other parts of the valley have been devel- 
oped. The railroad well at Blair Junction is 4 by 6 feet in cross sec- 
tion and 115 feet deep, with a 22-foot tunnel at a depth of 113 feet. 
It is cased with lumber to a depth of 100 feet. The last 5 feet is in 
Tertiary sandstone that contains volcanic fragments, and the water 
is said to be derived from this sandstone. About 15,000 gallons are 
pumped daily, but pumping at the rate of about 40 gallons per min- 
ute for two and one-half hours temporarily exhausts the supply. 

ARTESIAN SUPPLIES. 

DEVELOPMENTS. 

In the last two years seven flowing weUs have been sunk in the 
upper valley, and drilling was in progress when the valley was last 
visited. These weUs are aU in or very near the area of ground-water 
discharge, which has more or less alkaline soil and a depth to water 
not generally exceeding 10 feet. 

In 1913 a flowing well was drilled on the ranch of Frank Gendron and 
two were drilled on the claim of Ed Turner, 2 miles south of the 
Darrough Hot Springs (PI. II) . The Gendron well, which was vari- 
ously reported as 133 and 190 feet deep, revealed the approximate 
section shown on page 59. The well was finished with a 6-inch 
casing, but some of the water comes up on the outside of the casing. 
The flow is only a few gallons a minute. 

The two wells of Ed Turner, which are finished with 6-inch casings, 
are situated only 3 feet apart. They are reported to be respectively 40 
and 90 feet deep. The strongest flow is said to come from the depth of 
30 feet. The 40-foot well is said to have yielded originally about 40 
gallons a minute and the 90-foot well about 30 gallons, but their com- 
bined yield at the time the wells were visited was only about 30 gallons 
a minute. 

Late in 1913 a well was drilled at the Crowell ranch which encoun- 
tered little except sand and which is reported to have a small flow. 



ARTESIAN SUPPLIES. IH 

In 1914 two flowing wells were drilled on the ranch, of Fred Jones, 
and one at Millett, and in October of that year drilling was in progress 
in a well one-half mile northeast of Millett. 

Both of the Jones wells are 6 inches in diameter and are finished 
with standard casings without perforations, the water entering 
through the open end at the bottom of each well. The first well was 
drilled to a depth of 68 feet, where the first flow was struck, and the 
second to a depth of 127 feet, where a stronger flow was encountered 
in a 10-foot bed of gravel below a layer of dense clay or hardpan, also 
about 10 feet thick. The water table was encountered 8 or 9 feet 
below the surface. The 127-foot well discharged from a pipe with 
outlet 14 feet above the surface, and the water would no doubt have 
risen higher. The flow of the 60-foot well was at first about 75 gallons 
a minute but later diminished to about 30 gallons. The flow of the 
127-foot well was measured on October 7, when it was found to be 120 
gallons a minute. The cost of the 127-foot well was as follows: 

Cost of 127 -foot well of Fred Jones. 

Drilling: 

100 feet at $1 per foot $100. 00 

27 feet at $1.50 per foot 40. 50 

Casing: 

124 feet at $0.65 per foot 80, 60 

Total cost of well 221. 10 

The flowing weU at Millett is similar to the Jones wells and is 101 
feet deep. The water table was struck a few feet below the sur- 
face; the first flow, yielding about 8 gaUons a minute, was struck at 
61 feet; and the second flow, about 40 gaUons a minute, was struck 
at the bottom. On October 6 the flow through a 2-inch pipe 8 feet 
above the sm"face was 32 gallons a minute. 

PROSPECTS. 

The prospects of obtaining flowing wells are, as a rule, best where 
the water table is nearest the surface, and no money should be spent 
in drilling for flows outside of the 50-foot boundaries shown on 
Plate II. The most favorable conditions are found in the shallow- 
water area on the west side of the upper valley, where the slope from 
the mountains is steep and the water supply is abundant, but there 
are also prospects on the east side between the Charnock Springs 
and Wood's ranch. To a large extent the flowing-weU area will be 
found to be in the areas of alkah soil, but it may be possible to get 
satisfactory flows on some good land just outside of the alakali 
areas, especially at the bases of the alluvial fans of Kingston Creek, 
Twin Rivers, and Jefferson Creek. Even where the soil contains 
considerable alkali flowing wells will be profitable provided there is 
enough slope to make the removal of the alkali practicable, as is the 



112 BIG SMOKY VALLEY. 

case near the west edge of the alkah area m the upper valley, and 
provided the yield of the weUs is large enough to make the cost per 
acre comparatively small, as is the case with the Jones well. 

The conditions for obtaining flowing weUs in the lower vaUey are 
beHeved to be less favorable than in the upper valley because the 
fill is not so deep, the contributions to the ground-water supply are 
smaller, and the principal som'ces of supply are farther from the 
shaUow-water area. If there is any drilling for flowing weUs it 
should be done a short distance west or southwest of Millers, where 
the soil is still fairly good but the water table is not much more than 
10 feet below the surface. 

Flows could probably be obtained by drilling deep weUs into the 
Tertiary strata in the lowest parts of the lower valley, but on account 
of the probable small yields and poor quality of water it is not likely 
that such WeUs would be worth what they would cost. 

Generally where flows are obtained in the valley fill there are 
several sand or gravel beds with artesian water that are separated 
from each other, more or less effectually by beds of clayey material. 
In order to get the largest possible yield a well should penetrate as 
many of these artesian beds as practicable. 

CONSERVATION. 

The artesian reservoirs of Big Smoky Valley are relatively small 
and their confining beds are not very effective in preventing escape 
of the artesian water, but they are recharged each year by compara- 
tively large supplies that enter the ground only a few miles from 
where the flows are obtained and at much higher levels — conditions 
which produce steep hydraulic gradients and the maintenance of 
artesian pressure in spite of heavy leakage. Flowing weUs that tap 
these artesian reservoirs furnish an easier means of escape for the 
water that would otherwise be eventually discharged by nature 
through weak parts of the confining beds. Flowing weUs wiU there- 
fore recover for economic use a supply that would otherwise be prac- 
ticaUy wasted by nature from year to year. 

These facts show the desirability of developing the supply for 
irrigation, but they give no excuse for wasting artesian water. The 
escape of water from a flowing well necessarily provides some relief 
to the pressure and thereby reduces the yield of other wells drawing 
from the same reservoir. Also a flowing well depletes to some extent 
the supply in its immediate vicinity and hence tends to reduce its 
own head and yield. Consequently the waste of any artesian water, 
either through imperfectly cased wells or through wells that are 
left open when the water is not needed, increases the cost per second- 
foot of the water recovered and the cost per acre of land reclaimed 
with this water. This higher cost is borne in part by the man who 
wastes the water and in part by his neighbors. 



METHODS OP DRILLING. 113 

Great stupidity has been shown by the inhabitants of most flowing- 
weU areas in their reckless disregard of obvious principles of water 
conservation, and it is partly for this reason that most artesian basins 
have proved disappointing. It is to be hoped that in the develop- 
ments in Big Smoky Valley more wisdom will be exercised, and that 
the waste of the artesian water will be prevented (1) by using good 
casing, (2) by inserting the casing tightly through the confining 
beds, and (3) by closing the wells when the water is not used. 

METHODS OF DRILIilNG. 

Drilling can be done with standard cable percussion rigs,^ mud 
scow outfits such as are used in many of the debris-filled valleys of 
California,^ hydraulic rigs of either rotary ^ or spudding type,* or 
combination percussion and hydraulic rigs. 

Cable percussion rigs are the most reliable for general exploratory 
work and should be used for drilling in hard formations, such as the 
Tertiary rocks, or in bowldery deposits, such as underlie the alluvial 
slopes in some localities. These rigs are, however, comparatively 
slow in operation and are not well adapted for penetrating quicksand. 
They will not lend themselves to the most economic development of 
the ground waters of the valley. 

Mud scows, which are essentially bailers with heavy cutting shoes 
at the bottom, have been very widely and successfully used for 
drilling pump wells of large diameter for irrigation purposes in ordi- 
nary valley fill, and they would no doubt be well adapted for similar 
use in Big Smoky Valley. They might, however, not be successful 
where much quicksand is encountered. 

Hydraulic outfits, in which water is pumped downward through 
hollow drill rods and comes up on the outside bringing the drillings 
with it, provide a rapid means of sinking wells in soft, fine-grained 
material. The rotary machines are necessarily heavy and somewhat 
expensive and are used in deep drilling. In machines of the other 
type, usually provided with expansion cutting drills, the drill rods 
are alternately lifted and allowed to drop, as in percussion rigs. 
These light, inexpensive machines are used to a considerable extent 
for drilling flowing wells in fine valley fill and they are well adapted 
for similar use in Big Smoky Valley. The wells drilled with these 
outfits are generally small, but there appears to be no reason why 
they could not be used successfully for holes 6 inches in diameter, 
which is the smallest diameter recommended for wells to be used for 

1 Bowman, Isaiah, Well-drilling methods: U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 257, pp. 34-59, 1911. 

2 Idem, pp. 66-70. 

3 Idem, pp. 70-75. 
< Idem, pp. 75-78. 

46979°— wsp 423—17 8 



114 BIG SMOKY VALLEY. 

irrigation. The ascending muddy water plasters the walls of the 
well, producing a remarkably effective mud casing. Even in a deep 
well in soft material it is generally not necessary to insert casing until 
the entire hole has been drilled. This plastering or puddling process 
makes the hydraulic rigs the most successful for penetrating quick- 
sand, but it involves the danger of shutting out valuable water- 
bearing beds. 

The most serious difficulty that has been met in drilling in Big 
Smoky Valley is produced by beds of quicksand, which are alwaj^s 
hard to handle. If the bed is not too thick it may be possible to drive 
the casing through it into a firmer formation, or if the sand does not 
run too freely it may be possible to bail out enough to allow the casing 
to be driven down little by little. Entrance of sand into the well 
can to some extent be prevented by keeping the well as full of water 
as possible, thereby producing a back pressure. Other methods of 
penetrating quicksand consist of (1) freezing the formation, which 
is too expensive for ordinary water weUs ; (2) inserting cement, which 
sinks into the quicksand and sets, after which it can be drilled through ; 
and (3) puddling with mud by the hydraulic process. The puddling 
method is the most practicable for use in Big Smoky VaUey. 

For pump wells of large diameter double stovepipe casing, about 
No. 12 gage, such as is widely used in California, is probably the most 
economical casing that is adequate. It is commonly used in wells 
sunk with mud scows, where it is inserted as fast as the hole is made. 
In flowing weUs it is advisable to use the somewhat more expensive 
standard screw casing. Wells in the valley fill should not be left 
uncased. In pump wells the casing should be perforated at every 
water-bearing bed, either before or after it is inserted. Flowing 
weUs, in order to yield the largest amount possible, should be sunk 
through the entire bed that furhishes the artesian water and should 
have their casings perforated where they pass through this bed. 
Generally there are several satisfactory artesian horizons below the 
one in which the first flow is struck, and in order to get strong flows 
aU of them should be penetrated and the artesian water admitted by 
perforating the casing. Perforations may be circular holes one-fourth 
to one-half inch in diameter or vertical slits one-fourth to one-half 
inch wide. 

QUALITY OF WATER AND OF ALKALI IN SOIL. 

SOTTBCES OF DATA. 

In the tables on pages 153-161 are given the results of 90 analyses — 
57 of water samples and 33 of the water-soluble contents of soil 
samples. Forty-one of the water samples and 28 of the soil 
samples were collected in Big Smoky Valley, and the others were col- 
lectedin Clayton, Alkali Spring, and Ralston valleys. (See pp. 127-146.) 



QUALITY OP WATER AND OF ALKALI IN SOIL, 



115 



AH the soil analyses and most of the water analyses were made for 
this investigation by S. C. Dinsmore. The analyses not made by 
Dr. Dinsmore were obtained from various sources, as indicated in 
connection with the tables. Acknowledgments are due the Goldfield 
ConsoHdated Water Co., the Desert Power & Mill Co., and the Pitts- 
burgh Silver Peak Mining Co. for analytical data generously furnished 
to the Geological Survey. 

DISSOLVED SUBSTANCES. 

The dissolved mineral matter consists chiefly of calcium (Ca), 
magnesium (Mg), sodium (Na), bicarbonate (HCO3), carbonate 
(CO3), sulphate (SO4), and chlorine (CI), with smaller amounts of 
sihca (SiOg), iron (Fe), and nitrate (NO3). Potassium (K) and 
sodiimi (Na) were generally not determined but were calculated from 
the reacting values of the determined bases and acids and were 
reported together. 

The analyses show wide range among the waters of Big Smoky 
VaUey (1) in the total dissolved solids, (2) in the amounts of each 
constituent, and (3) in the proportions of the constituents. In the 
following table is given the range among the samples analyzed, 
exclusive of W4, which was no doubt greatly concentrated by evapo- 
ration in the well, and W23 and W24 which may have been thus con- 
centrated. The table shows that the range is greatest for the radicles 
whose compounds are most soluble,like sodium, sulphate, and chlorine, 
and least for sihca and bicarbonate, whose compounds are less soluble 
but generally available to the natural waters, bicarbonate being 
derived partly from the carbonates in the rock and partly from the 
carbon dioxide of the atmosphere and of decayed vegetation. 

Range in mineral constituents in waters of Big Smoky Valley.'^ 



Lowest 
(parts per 
millioii). 



Highest 
(parts per 
million). 



(ratio of 
highest to 
lowest.) 



Total dissolved solids 

Silica (Si02) 

Calcium (Ga) 

Ma^esium (Mg) 

Sodiiim and potassium (Na+K) 

Carbonate and bicarbonate radicles (expressed as HCO3)- 

Sulphate radicle (SOi) 

Chlorine (Cl ) 



104 

10 

13 

1.9 

Trace. 

75 

Trace. 

4 



4,038 

100 

397 

71 

1,218 
807 

1,174 

1,361 



39 
10 
31 

37 
Very great. 

Very great. 
340 



a Except W4, W23, and W24. 
PROVINCES. 



With respect to quality of water. Big Smoky Valley can be divided 
roughly into three provinces — the upper valley, the part of the lower 
valley northeast of a northwest-southeast line through a point 4 miles 
southwest of Millers, and the part of the lower valley southwest of 



H6 



BIG SMOKY VAU^Y. 



that lino. (See PI. II, in pocket.) The general differences in the 
waters of these provinces are shown l\y the following tahlos and hy 
the diagrams in figure 9, wliich is based on the averages given in tlie 
first table. 

Average mineral content of unirrfrovi Big Sinoki/ I'aUcy. 
[rai'ts jier million.] 















Sodium 












Num- 
ber of 
sam- 


Total 
dis- 
solved 


Silica 
(SiOa). 


Cal- 
cium. 
(Ca). 


Maprne- 

siiun 

(Mg). 


and 
potas- 
sium 


Car- 
honute 
radicio 


Bicar- 
bonate 
radicio 


Sul- 
phate 
radicio 


Chlo- 
rine 
(CI). 




ples. 


solids. 




(Na-l- 


(CU»). 


(HCOs). 


(SO4). 














K). 










Upper valley: 
Streams 






















4 
9 

n 

24 


233 
221 
32'.) 
273 


IS 
28 
2C) 
20 


4S 
44 
(i3 
53 


11 

7 

15 
U 


13 
13 
29 
21 


11 
5 
2 

5 


1(H) 
MO 
224 
ISl 


32 
34 
42 
37 


7 


Springs " 





WellsT' 


35 


All samples" t> 

Lower valley: 


21 






















Northo!\st prov- 






















ince (all samples) 


s 


SfiS 


50 


40 


10 


122 


3 


273 


SO 


(W 


Southwest prov- 






















ince (all samples) 


6 


5, 753 


6t) 


91 


20 


1,947 


IS 


090 


1, 191 


1,933 



'» Except S5. 



f> Except W4 and W12, 



Number of wakr samples from Big Smokg H'alleg having specifu'd contents of iMssolved 

solids. 





Number of samples. 


Parts per million. 


Upper 
valley. 


Northeixst 
provuice 
of lower 
valley. 


Southwest 
province 
of lower 
valley. 


Less than 200 


9 

14 
2 

2 



5 
2 
1 





2tX) to 5(K) 





500 to 1 (XX) 


1 


More than 1,000 


5 








27 


S 


6 



Number of water samples from Big Smoky Valley having specijled contents of certain 

mineral constituents. 

Basic radicles. 





Calcium (Ca). 


Magnesiimi (Mg). 


Sodium and potassium 

(Na+K). 


Parts per million. 


Upper 
valley. 


North- 
cast 
prov- 
ince of 
lower 
valley. 


South- 
west 
prov- 
ince of 
lower 
valley. 


Upper 

valley. 


North- 
east 
prov- 
ince of 
lower 
valley. 


South- 
west 
prov- 
ince of 
lower 
valley. 


ITpper 
valley. 


North- 
east 
prov- 
ince of 
lower 
valley. 


South- 
west 
prov- 
ince of 
lower 
valley. 





13 
13 
1 












i 

3 



17 

S 
2 





4 
4 





2 
3 
1 




13 

5 
1 
1 



3 
1 
4 






10 to 50 





50 to 100 





100 to 500 


2 


More than 500 


4 








27 


8 


6 


27 


S 


6 


27 


8 


6 



QUALITY OP WATER AND OF ALKALI IN SOIL. 



117 



Number of water samples from Big Smoky Valley having specified contents of certain 
mineral constituents — Continued. 



Acid radicles. 





Bicarbonate radicle 
(HCO3). 


Sulphate radicle (SO4). 


Chlorine (CI). 


Parts per million. 


Upper 
valley. 


North- 
east 
prov- 
ince of 
lower 
valley. 


South- 
west 
prov- 
ince of 
lower 
valley. 


Upper 
valley. 


North- 
east. 
prov- 
ince of 
lower 
valley. 


South- 
west, 
prov- 
ince of 
lower 
valley. 


Upper 
valley. 


North- 
east, 
prov- 
ince of 
lower 
valley. 


South- 
west 
prov- 
ince of 
lower 
valley. 






5 
21 
1 






7 
1 





4 
2 


3 
14 

8 


2 


I 
4 
2 





1 
2 
3 


13 
11 
1 

1 
1 



5 
2 
1 






10 to 50 





50 to 100 


1 


100 to 500 


1 


More than 500 


4 








27 


8 


6 


27 


8 


6 


27 


8 


6 



With few exceptions the waters of the upper valley contain only- 
moderate amounts of mineral matter, those of the northeastern 
province of the lower valley contain somewhat larger amounts, and 
those of the southwestern province of the lower valley are highly 
mineraUzed. Nearly all the samples from the upper valley and 
most of those from the northeast province of the lower valley con- 
tain less than 500 parts per milUon of total soUds, whereas all but 
one of the samples from the southwest province contain more than 
1,000 parts. One- third of the samples from the upper valley con- 
tain less than 200 parts of total sohds, the lowest being 104 parts, 
but none of those from the lower valley contains less than 200 parts. 

The mineral matter dissolved in the waters of the upper valley 
consists chiefly of calcium and the bicarbonate radicle. Magnesium, 
sodium, the sulphate radicle, and chlorine are present in relatively 
small amounts. In one-half of the samples the calculated sodium 
content is less than 10 parts per miUion and in none except that 
from Spencer Hot Springs (S5) and the concentrated solution from 
the playa (W4) is it more than 100 parts. In one-half of the samples 
the content of chlorine is less than 10 parts per miUion and in only a 
few is it more than 15 or 20 parts. In nearly two-thirds of the sam- 
ples the sulphate radicle is less than 50 parts per milUon and in all 
except W4 and W12 it is less than 100 parts. In most of the 
samples the reacting values of the sulphate radicle and chlorine 
exceed together the reacting values of sodium and potassium (fig. 9), 
but in some samples sodium and potassium are in excess. 

The waters from the northeast province of the lower vaUey gener- 
ally contain somewhat less calcium and magnesium than the waters 
of the upper vaUey, but their average content of sodium is nearly 
six times as great. The average content of calcium in the samples from 
the upper vaUey is two to three times that of the sodium, but in the 



118 



BIG SMOKY VALLEY. 



samples from the northeast province of the lower valley it is only 

about one-third that of the so- 
dimn. The waters of the north- 
east province of the lower vaUey 
are also somewhat higher in 
chlorine and sulphate, chlorine 
being not less than 18 parts and 
the sulphate radicle, with one ex- 
ception, not less than 50 parts per 
million. Sodium is, however, gen- 
erally in excess over the chloride and 
sulphate radicles, and therefore the 
waters belong to the sodium carbon- 
ate type and usually leave black al- 
kah on evaporation (fig. 9). 

In the southwest province it was 
difficult to obtain satisfactory 
samples because there are no 
springs and only a few wells, most 
of which are in ruins . Enough sam- 
ples were obtained, however, to 
show that the waters are much 
more highly minerahzed than those 
in other parts of the valley. The 
relative proportions of the various 
constituents are not very different 
from those in the waters of the 
northeast province except that the 
preponderance of sodium over cal- 
cium is still greater. These waters 
are high m sulphate and chlorine, 
some of them being distinctly salty, 
but they generally contain sodium 
in considerable excess over these 
two radicles, and on evaporation 
they deposit sodium carbonate, or 
black alkali, as well as sodium 
chloride and sodium sulphate. 

RELATION OF QUALITY TO GEO- 
LOGIC FORMATIONS. 

The greater part of the mmeral 
matter dissolved in the water of 
the upper valley is derived from 
the limestones and calcareous slates that are widely distributed in 




QUALITY OF WATER AND OF ALKALI IN SOIL. 119 

the adjacent mountains, and the principal compound contributed 
by these formations is calcium carbonate. The abundant granitic 
rocks are much less soluble than the limestones and slates, but 
their effect on the character of the water and on the kinds of alkali 
deposited by the water on evaporation is discernible. Though 
most of the analyses do not show an excess of sodium over 
chlorine and sulphate, sodium carbonate (black alkah) is present in 
the soil throughout the alkali area. 

The rocks in the basin tributary to the northeast province of the 
lower valley are chiefly Tertiary eruptives, which, like the granitic 
rocks, yield waters that are only slightly mineralized but sodium car- 
bonate in type. The high content of sodium in this province, as com- 
pared with that in the waters of the upper valley, is doubtless due 
to the presence of some Tertiary sedimentary beds, whereas the com- 
paratively small content of calcium is due to the relative scarcity of 
limestone and calcareous slate. 

The high mineral content of most of the waters in the southwest 
province is apparently due to salts contributed by the Tertiary sedi- 
mentary beds, which underlie much of this part of the valley and 
outcrop m the adjacent hills and mountains. The character of the 
mineral matter suggests that the Tertiary beds were formed, at least 
in part, under conditions of concentration that resulted in the depo- 
sition of soluble salts. The conditions may have been not unlike those 
in the Quaternary period, for the Quaternary lake and playa beds of 
either the upper or the lower valley would, if leached, produce waters 
of the same general character as the highly mineralized waters of the 
lower valley. Most of the calcium salts would be left behind and the 
more soluble carbonates, chlorides, and sulphates of sodium would go 
into solution. The salts can not have been derived from the concen- 
tration of sea water because their proportions differ from those in sea 
water, in which chlorine alone exceeds sodium and potassium. The 
highly minerahzed waters of Clayton Valley more nearly resemble 
sea water in composition. (See p. 146.) 

RELATION OF QUALITY TO CONCENTRATION PROCESSES. 

Concentration of the soluble load carried by the water has been an 
important geologic process in Big Smoky Valley. This process in the 
lake epoch was somewhat different from that occurring at present 
when the climate is too arid for lakes to exist. During the lake 
epoch the dissolved substances nearly all reached the lakes and were 
deposited on the lake bottoms by long-continued evaporation. What 
has become of these salt deposits is not definitely known. During 
arid epochs dissolved substances are deposited by evaporation of both 
surface and ground waters in the lowest parts of the interior depres- 
sions. The surface waters carry to the playas not only a soluble load 



120 BIG SMOKY VALLEY. 

but also a load of suspended silt and clay, part of which is so fine 
that it is not generally deposited until the water evaporates. Thus 
the surface waters tend to seal the soluble materials by layers of fine 
sediment and to leave them disseminated through the dense playa 
deposit as the playa is gradually built up. The ground waters that 
emerge in the low places bring up with them some of the soluble 
substances that have been buried, and they thus tend to effect con- 
centration at the surface. There is evidence, derived chiefly from 
deeper borings in other playas similar to those of Big Smoky Valley, 
that the fine deposits underlying the playas form dense cores, through 
which the ground water circulates so sluggishly that it is not effective 
in raising the soluble substances to the surface. On the other hand, 
there is evidence from the data obtained in this and other investi- 
gations that in the relatively porous deposits of the wet zone sur- 
rounding a playa there is active circulation and rise of ground water, 
so that soluble substances are nearly or quite as thoroughly removed 
from these deposits as from deposits beneath the upper parts of the 
alluvial slopes. 

Some of the samples of purest water from the upper valley were 
obtained from the wet zone surrounding the playa, in which the 
ground water is rising and alkaH is deposited at the surface. Seven 
of the nine samples with less than 200 parts per miUion of total sohds 
come from this zone. They include the samples from Frank Gen- 
dron's flowing well (W3), Millett's flowing well (W5), a well only 
10 feet deep at the Rogers ranch (W8), and the spring at the edge 
of Moore Lake (Sll). The sample from Mr. Gendron's flowing well 
contains less mineral matter than any other water collected in Big 
Smoky Valley, the sample from South Twin River being second, and 
that from the spring at Moore Lake third. The great purity of the 
water of the spring at Moore Lake (PI. II) is especially remarkable, 
as it issues in a locality where the surface is extremely alkaline, as 
is shown by the soil analysis (A7, p. 161). 

As the wet zone surrounding the playa has perceptible slope, the 
rains and flood waters that flow over it dissolve and carry to the 
playa the soluble substances that are left at the surface by the evap- 
orating ground waters. On the playa the soluble matter is disposed 
of by deposition with fine sediments, as already indicated. 

The history of the soluble substances derived from erosion of the 
mountams during an arid epoch when there is no lake appears, there- 
fore, to be as follows: Part is carried by the surface waters directly 
to the playa, and part is carried by the ground waters, which generally 
move from the mountains toward the playa but, being blocked by 
the clay core underlying the playa, return to the surface in the sur- 
rounding zone, where they evaporate and deposit their soluble load; 
the soluble matter thus deposited is then washed into the playa by 



QUALITY OF WATER AND OF ALKALI IN SOIL. 121 

surface water; on the play a the soluble matter from both sources is 
deposited with the fine sediments and largely remains disseminated 
through these sediments as the play a is built. 

During the processes leading to concentration most of the less 
soluble substances are left behind when more soluble salts are re- 
moved. This explains why the relative proportions of sodium are 
greater and those of calcium less in saturated solutions (W4), alkali 
crusts (A5, A7, and A9), and the water-soluble component of alkah 
soils (other analyses, p. 161) than in the more dilute water samples. 
The content of calcium is very small in most of the soil samples whose 
analyses are given on page 161, as is shown by the low value for 
hardness. The few that contain much calcium (Al, Al2, and Al4) 
doubtless derived it from calcium sulphate. The soluble matter 
concentrated at or near the surface in the low places and dissemi- 
nated through the playa deposits at great depths consists chiefly of 
sodimn chloride, sulphate, and carbonate, and is commonly called 
alkali. 

The soil analyses (p. 161) show that all three salts are present in 
considerable quantities and that none of them predominates greatly 
over the others. Sodimn chloride is the most abundant constituent 
of the alkali in the samples from the flat east of Millett (A6) and in 
several others and it is widely distributed. It is the dominant salt 
in the Spaulding salt marsh. Sodium carbonate and bicarbonate 
predominate in several samples and are present over most of the area 
occupied by the alkali tracts. Sodium sulphate is dominant in some 
samples and is widely distributed. Calcium sulphate is present in 
considerable quantities in only a few samples and its occurrence 
appears to be rather localized. 

Sodium chloride can be recognized by its salty taste, sodium sul- 
phate by its salty and bitter taste, and sodium carbonate by its soapy 
taste and the burning sensation when it is taken into the mouth, and 
also by the black or brown discoloration that it produces in the soil 
where there is vegetable matter. 

RELATION OF QUALITY TO USE. 

DOMESTIC USE. 

There are wide differences in the effects of some waters on persons 
who drink them, and many of the supposed effects, either curative 
or injm-ious, are doubtless imaginary. A water may be avoided in 
one community as -unfit to drink and water similar in composition 
may be prized in another for its medicinal properties. Many waters 
widely regarded as having specific curative properties are essentially 
similar in composition to city supplies used daily by thousands of 
people without apparent peculiar effect. The effect of any mineral 



122 BIG SMOKY VALLEY. 

ingredient is generally greater on a person unaccustomed to the water 
than on one who has used it for a long time. Moreover, a person, 
after drinking a strong water for some time, may become unable to 
detect any disagreeable taste in it or may even prefer it to less strongly 
mineralized water. For example, the supply at Blair (Si 7, p. 154) 
contaius 774 parts per miUion of chloriue, and is therefore salty to the 
taste, whereas the supply at Millers (Wl7, p. 157) contains only 
74 parts of chlorine, an amount too small to be tasted ; but an inhab- 
itant of Blair reported that when she visits Millers the water tastes 
so insipid to her that she adds a little salt before drinking it. 

A judgment of potability based on total sohds alone is unsatis- 
factory, because the different constituents do not have the same 
physiologic effect. The so-called Michigan "standard of purity" 
specified 500 parts per million as the allowable limit of total sohds, 
a limit entirely too low. MacDougal,^ judging from experience in 
desert regions, states that waters contauiuig 2,500 parts per million 
of dissolved salts may be used for many days without serious discom- 
fort; that those contaiuing as much as 3,300 parts can be used only 
by hardened travelers; and that those containing 5,000 parts or more 
are inimical to health and comfort, but might suffice for a few hours to 
save the life of a person who had been wholly without water. 

Water that contains 250 or 300 parts per milhon of chlorine in the 
form of common salt is generally sUghtly brackish, and water con- 
taining larger amounts is correspondingly more salty to the taste, 
1,000 parts per million being near the limit of potabihty. About 400 
parts of the sulphate radicle is generally perceptible to the taste. 
Strong sulphate waters are laxative, and waters containing several 
hundred parts per milHon of this radicle are prized by some persons 
for their medicinal properties. Hardness of water is caused by the 
presence of calcium and magnesium. 

The tables on pages 153-158 show that practically all the stream, 
spring, and well waters of the upper valley are good for domestic 
use, that most of the waters of the northeast province of the lower 
valley are fairly good, and that most of those of the southwest prov- 
ince are poor or unfit, though the water from the Desert weU (W22) 
is classified as good for drinking. The classification in respect to 
quahty for domestic use in the tables of analyses is based entirely on 
the amounts of the dissolved mineral constituents. It gives no 
information as to whether the waters are polluted with disease-bear- 
ing organisms or with poisonous substances like cyanide from mill 
tailings. 

iMacDougal, D. T., Botanical features of North American deserts: Carnegie Inst. Washington Pub. 
99, p. 109, 1908. 



QUALITY OF WATER AND OF ALKALI IN SOIL. 123 

USE IN BOILERS. 

Silica, calcium, magnesium, iron, and aluminum are scale-forming 
materials, and among these calcium usually occurs in greatest amount. 
Dissolved and suspended substances of all kinds probably affect the 
tendency to foam, but as compounds of sodium and potassium are 
more soluble than those of most other substances commonly found 
in water they remain in solution in the boiler water after most of the 
other substances have been precipitated, and therefore the tendency 
to foam is commonly measured by the amount of these two elements 
in the boiler feed. 

Under the high temperatures in boilers, magnesium, iron, and 
aluminum may be precipitated as hydrates, and the acid thus re- 
leased may cause corrosion. Carbonate and bicarbonate counteract 
this tendency, but sulphate, and especially chlorine, increase it. 

Most waters of the upper valley are fairly good for use in boilers, 
but will deposit a moderate amount of rather soft scale. Much of 
the scale-forming material can be removed by heating the water 
before it is admitted into the boilers. The waters of the northeast 
province of the lower valley will perhaps form less scale than the 
waters of the upper valley, but their tendency to foam is greater. 
The waters of the southwest province are objectionable chiefly because 
of their high content of sodium and consequent tendency to foam. 
The suppUes at Millers and Blair Junction are among the softest 
waters in the valley and will not form large amounts of scale, but on 
account of their rather high sodium content they may cause foaming 
in locomotive boilers. 

USE FOR IRRIGATION. 

Plants can endure a larger amount of dissolved mineral matter 
than animals, but the soil solution on which they subsist is generally 
more strongly concentrated than the water appUed in irrigation, as 
some of the alkali in the soil goes into solution. Moreover, irrigation 
water that evaporates leaves its soluble content, and thus adds to 
the amount of alkali in the soil and to the concentration of the soil 
solution. If soil is well drained, alkali can from time to time be 
washed from it, and highly minerahzed waters can be successfully 
used for irrigation ; but if the drainage is poor even water of low mineral 
content may eventually cause injurious acciunulation of alkali. 
One year or even a few years of irrigation do not give a fair test if the 
conditions are such that the alkali is accumulating. The injury to 
plants is caused chiefly by the sodium salts, among which the carbon- 
ate, or black alkali, is most injurious, the sulphate is least injurious, 
and the chloride is intermediate. 



124 BIG SMOKY VALLEY. 

The stream, spring, and well waters of the upper valley are generally 
of good quaHty for irrigation, and except where the soil is ah^eady 
impregnated with alkali they will not produce injurious effects. 

The waters of the northeast province of the lower valley contain 
larger but not excessive amounts of alkali, and most of them are 
satisfactory for irrigation, except where the soil already • contains 
injurious amounts of alkaH. Some of the waters of the southwest 
province might be used for irrigation but all are unsatisfactory. 
The water from the railway well at Blair Junction is used to irrigate 
a few trees, which appear to be suffering from the alkali that is 
deposited. 

The analyses show that the two most injurious salts in the soil of 
the alkali areas are sodium chloride and sodium carbonate, the 
chloride being more abundant but the carbonate more injurious. 
Difficulty with these two salts may be expected within the alkah areas 
as shown on the map (PL II), but not aU the land within these areas 
is irreclaimable. Indeed much of the land now irrigated in the upper 
valley with stream and spring waters Hes in the alkaU area and has 
been made fairly productive by persistent and intelUgent effort. 

The northeast Hmits of the area of alkaU soil in the lower valley 
are not very definite, and some alkali may be encountered beyond 
the boundary shown on the map (PL II). Reclamation of the land 
in the alkah area of the lower valley is not beheved to be practicable, 
the drainage being much poorer than that of the reclaimed alkaH 
land in the upper valley. 

PUBLIC SUPPLIES. 

TONOPAH. 
DEVELOPMENT OF SUPPLY. 

In the first years of Tonopah's existence water was brought to the 
town on burros. Small amounts were afterward obtained by shallow 
wells, the presence of greasewood being used as an indication of an 
underflow. Wells were sunk and a pmnping plant was installed about 
1904 at a locality known as the Rye Patch, at the axis of Ralston 
Valley, about 1 1 miles northeast of Tonopah. This water was piped to 
a reservoir on the high ground north of the city. (See PL XIII. ) The 
waterworks are owned and operated by the Water Co. of Tonopah. 

PHYSICAL FEATURES OF SOURCE. 

Ralston VaUey is a long debris-filled vaUey with an interior drain- 
age. It heads east of the Toquima Range at a low divide that sepa- 
rates it from Monitor Valley farther north. The axial drainage line 
leads southward through the Rye Patch, 20 miles south of the divide, 



PUBLIC SUPPLIES. 125 

to a large terminal playa. According to Ball ^ a well sunk in this playa 
did not strike water until it reached a depth of 240 feet, indicating 
underground escape of the water into another basin and the absence 
of ground-water discharge. In the vicinity of the Rye Patch the 
axis is marked by a shallow stream valley, in the banks of which 
outcrops of lava indicate the presence of a rock barrier not far below 
the surface. Rock is reported to have been struck at the pumping 
plant at the depth of 55 feet and to have been penetrated to a depth 
of 162 feet. The flood plain in this vicinity supports a typical 
shallow-water flora, consisting of salt grass, big greasewood, rabbit 
brush, giant rye grass (Elymus condensatus) , and giant reed grass 
(PJiragmites communis). The adjacent alluvial slopes support the 
usual arid upland vegetation of salt bush (Atriplex confertifolia) and 
little greasewood, but there is a narrow transition zone characterized 
by big greasewood and iodine weed. The ground is moist in some 
locahties from the surface down and there is active ground-water dis- 
charge. The northern limits of the shallow-water area were not de- 
termined, but they are known to be some distance up the valley. 
Below the pumping station the conditions change rapidly ; in less than 
a mUe all indications of ground water disappear and characteristic 
upland vegetation, consisting of salt bush (Atriplex confertifolia), 
Httle greasewood, and white sage, extends across the axis of the 
valley. Apparently, therefore, the only locahty in the 50 miles from 
the Monitor divide to the playa in which ground water comes to the 
surface is at the Rye Patch, where an underground barrier doubtless 
exists. 

WELLS. 

Ten 14-inch wells were originally sunk at intervals of about 100 
feet in an east-west line across the flood plain at right angles to the 
axis of the valley. On the rock, which was struck 55 feet below the 
surface, there is said to be a 10-foot bed of clay, above which there is 
clay, sand, and the gravel from which the water is derived. The 
water table was originally 8 feet below the surface, but in 1913 it was 
a few feet lower. The yield seems gradually to have declined, more 
likely by clogging of the wells than by diminution of the supply, 
until in 1913 it was only a few thousand gallons an hour. 

Two large wells have been sunk in the same locality, one 8 by 12 feet 
by 45 feet deep, the other 5 by 6 feet by 60 feet deep. They are 
pumped with centrifugal pumps and contribute largely to the supply. 
An infiltration ditch, discharging by gravity, furnished about 9,000 
gallons an hour until it was damaged by a flood in the fall of 1913. 

1 Ball, S. H., A geologic reconnaissance in southwestern Nevada and eastern California: U. S. Geo!. 
Survey Bull. 308, p. 83, 1907. 



126 BIG SMOKY VALLEY. 

Recently three wells were sunk somewhat less than 100 feet apart 
along an east-west Hne at the axis of the valley 4,400 feet north of 
the pumping plant, where the water table is only about 5 feet below 
the surface and ground water is being discharged through soil and 
vegetation. These weUs are 12 inches in diameter and range in depth 
from 46 to 51 feet. They pass through about 4 feet of gray silt loam 
and then chiefly through clean sand and gravel to the bottom, where 
bowlders were struck. They are lined to the bottom with No. 12 dou- 
ble stovepipe casing with small perforations. A yield of 100 gallons 
a minute is reported by Mr. M. P. Shepard, foreman of the pumping 
plant, to have been obtained in a test of one of these wells with a 
drawdown of 20 feet, and a yield of 150 gallons a muiute with a draw- 
down of 25 feet. With larger perforations the yield would probably 
have been greater. 

A test well 65 feet deep, 2 miles farther up the vaUey, struck water 
at a depth of about 5 feet and passed chiefly through clean gravel to 
the bottom, where bowlders were encoxmtered. Mr. Shepard reports 
that this well was pumped 8 hours at the rate of 50 gallons a minute 
with a drawdown of only 16 inches. 

The supply in this valley is apparently a deflnitely limited under- 
flow, but larger quantities could doubtless be recovered by a more 
widely distributed system of weUs, which would get the water that 
now escapes toward the south. 

PUMPING PLANT AND DISTRIBUTING SYSTEM. 

The pumping plant includes three electrically driven triplex pumps, 
each with a capacity of about 7,000 gallons an hour. They force the 
water through an 8-uich pipe line 11 miles to the distributing reser- 
voir, which is 603 feet above the pumps and has a capacity of 232,000 
gallons. From this reservoir the water is carried by gravity through 
the distributing system, which includes 31 hydrants and 780 service 
connections. 

CONSUMPTION OF WATER. 

According to Mr. F. A. Burnham, manager of the water company, 
the average daily consumption is 300,000 gallons, of which all but 
40,000 gallons is used at the mines and mills. The gross per capita 
consumption is 40 gallons a day, but exclusive of the water used at 
the mines and mOls it is only 6 gallons a day. 

COST. 

The maximum charge for water formerly was $10 per 1,000 gallons, 
but it has been reduced to $3.25, the price decreasmg with the amount 
consumed to a minimum of $1 per 1,000 gallons. As at Goldfield 



PUBLIC SUPPLIES. 127 

(p. 152),, there is a marked relation between the cost of the water and 
the per capita consumption as compared with other communities 
where water is cheaper. 

QUALITY. 

As shown by the analysis on page 157, the water contains only mod- 
erate amounts of mineral matter and resembles in composition the 
water of upper Big Smoky VaUey, especially in the small content of 
sodium and the predominance of calcium. It is of good quality for 
domestic use and for irrigation, but forms some scale in boilers. The 
sanitary conditions are also good provided reasonable precautions 
are taken to prevent pollution in the vicinity of the wells. 

MANHATTAN. 

Most of the water supply for Manhattan is furnished by the Man- 
hattan Water Co. Until the fall of 1913 the regular supply was 
pumped from two dug wells, 4 by 8 feet in cross section, situated 1,000 
feet apart in a gulch on the Tonopah road, 1 J miles from Manhattan. 
The upper well is reported to be 60 feet deep, all except the first 6 feet 
being in black slate, from which the supply is derived. The lower 
well is reported to be about 50 feet deep with a 12-foot tunnel, the 
upper 40 feet being in gravel or other detrital material and the rest 
in black slate. The water is reported to enter chiefly from the bottom 
of the gravel. The upper well yields more than the lower, but neither 
freely supplies water. The upper well is equipped with an electrically 
driven pump with a capacity of 35 gallons a minute, and the lower 
well with a similar pump with a capacity of 20 gallons. These pumps 
are operated throughout the day, but without running at fuU capac- 
ity they remove the water that accumulates in the weUs overnight in 
five to seven hours, after which the pumpage is small. 

In the fall of 1913 the daily supply from the two wells was reported 
to be only 12,000 to 15,000 gallons, though the daily consumption was 
20.000 to 25,000 gallons: The unusually low yield was attributed to 
the scanty snowfall of the preceding winter. The deficiency was 
temporarily met by pumping from the Big Four mine, which was 
about 500 feet deep and received seepage from veins and fissures 
below the depth of 250 feet. Water pumped from the mine was also 
used for milling. At the same time a well was drilled, 35 feet south 
of the upper dug well, through slate to a depth of 125 feet, and a 
small yield was obtained by shooting it with dynamite. Both flat 
and meter rates are in effect, and the latter range from $6.75 to $3.15 
per 1,000 gallons. Several houses in the upper part of Manhattan 
are supphed through a. system of pipes from a 50-foot dug well at the 
head of the main street. 



128 BIG SMOKY VALLEY. 

BOUND MOUNTAIN. 

Round Mountain is supplied by a privately owned gravity system, 
which takes water from the underflow of Shoshone Creek, the surface 
flow being diverted farther up for hydraulic mining. The usual 
family rate is $3.50 a month. 

MILLERS. 

The domestic supply at MUlers is obtained from the well of the 
Desert Power & Mill Co. (pp. 108-109) . The water is pumped to a tank 
on a small hOl south of the settlement and is distributed by gravity. 
The water is freely used, the common charge being a flat rate of $1 
a month for water and other privileges. 

IRRIGATION. 

DEVELOPMENTS. 

The acreage of irrigated land in the basin of Big Smoky Valley 
is difficult to estimate because many of the irrigated fields merge 
with partly irrigated or nonirrigated meadows, and these in turn 
merge with unproductive marsh or desert. According to estimates 
based on the measured or reported dimensions of fields at each ranch, 
the total area regularly irrigated in the basin is about 2,500 acres, 
of which about one-half is in alfalfa and one-half in wild grass, the 
acreage of all other crops being very small. In addition there is 
about 5,000 acres of meadow land that is occasionally flooded or 
naturally subirrigated and that ranges from fairly productive grass 
land to nearly worthless salt-grass marsh. Practically all the 
irrigated land is in the north basin except about 300 acres along 
Peavine and Cloverdale creeks, (See PI. II.) 

Most of the water used for irrigation is taken from the numerous 
small mountain streams, but a part is from valley springs along 
the western spring line and at the Charnock ranch. Less than 5 
acres was irrigated with water from wells in 1913 and 1914. Most 
of the stream water is used on land near the mouths of the canyons 
or in open places within the canyons, but a considerable part is 
led in ditches down the alluvial slopes and is used in the alkali area 
or on intermediate tracts. The meadow lands and nearly aU the 
land irrigated from springs lie within the alkali area, but the alkali 
has been largely removed from the best fields in this area. The 
tracts of good soil adjacent to the alkali area generally lie above 
the springs, but they could be more largely utilized than they are 
at present for irrigation with stream waters. 

Much stream water is lost by percolation into the porous sediments 
underlying the upper parts of the alluvial slopes. Where the water 
is used on the porous soil near the canyons the percolation occurs 



IRRIGATION". 129 

largely after the water has been apphed to the land; where it is 
used on the tighter soil at lower levels the loss is chiefly by percola- 
tion from the ditches that lead from the mouths of the canyons to 
the irrigated fields several miles distant. The soil of the arroyos 
leading from the canyons is generally very porous, and to some 
extent loss has been avoided by using the water on the upland 
adjacent to the arroyos instead of using it on the floors of 
the arroyos themselves, or by leading it through ditches on the 
upland rather than taking it down the natural streamways. Only 
a part of the loss is, however, prevented by these means. The only 
effective methods of conserving the water supply would be (1) to 
prevent excessive percolation by constructing water-tight ditches 
from the canyons to the tracts of satisfactory soil, or (2) to recover 
the water, after it has sunk into the ground, through wells in the 
shallow-water areas. Both methods involve heavy expenditures, 
but both will probably in time be used. 

An experiment in waterproof ditch construction has been made 
by Mr. Frank Gendron, who lined with stone a ditch about 2 miles 
long leading from Decker Canyon to his ranch. Although no cement 
was used, the ditch is practically water-tight, as is shown by the 
measurements made July 2, 1915 (p. 75), and by the absence along 
its margins of moisture or of vegetation other than the ordinary 
desert brush. The data indicate that without this ditch most of 
the water would be lost. The ditch is reported by the owner to 
have cost about $4,000, all in labor, which, according to the figures 
on page 75 is a rather high cost per unit of water atihzed. 

It is beUeved that improvement of ditches to prevent seepage is 
practicable at other places in the valley, but before any work is 
undertaken the bulletins on the subject by the Department of Agii- 
culture should be consulted and all necessary information should 
be procured in order to obtain the best possible results at the lowest 
possible costs. In some places it may be advisable to construct 
water-tight ditches only on the parts of the slopes where percolation 
is largest. The installation of pressure pipe, which would not only 
conserve the water but would also develop power that could be used 
for pumping, is worthy of consideration, although as a rule its cost 
would doubtless be prohibitive. Its use might be found economic- 
ally feasible on the steep, porous, upper parts of the slopes, although 
not feasible on the lower parts having less gradient and less perco- 
lation. 

The duty of the water is also diminished by the great seasonal 
fluctuation of the streams. The smallest streams usually flow at 
their maximum stage in April or May, begin to dwindle in May or 
June, and fail to reach the fields before the summer is far advanced. 
Not only is their water tota,lly lost during most of the summer, but 
the season in which a part of it reaches the fields is so brief that it 
46979°— wsp 423—17 9 



130 BIG SMOKY VALLEY. 

is impossible to make good use of even this small supply. The large 
streams as a rule reach their maxima somewhat later than the small 
streams and they maintain considerable flow throughout the irriga- 
tion season, but their seasonal fluctuations are also so great that the 
high-stage waters can not be utilized to good advantage. The con- 
struction of reservoirs to regulate the flow is probably impracticable 
for most of the streams, but no investigation of reservoir sites has 
been made. The development of supplementary supphes by pump- 
ing from wells gives greater promise of being economically feasible. 

CROPS AND MARKETS. 

The short season, with cold spring and autumn, places a strict 
limit on the kind and quantity of crops that can be raised here, 
although this is less true of the vicinity of Millers than of the upper 
valley, where irrigation is now practiced. Tlie isolation of the region 
also places limitations on the kinds of crops that can profitably be 
produced. The mining towns afford a market for hay, vegetables, 
fruit, butter, and eggs, which, however, is uncertain and easily glutted. 
Although this market is of distinct benefit to the present ranchers, 
especially in keeping up the price of hay, it can not be depended on 
to support new settlers or to make costly water-supply developments 
profitable. 

The most valuable staple crop now raised is alfalfa, which is cut 
only two or three times in the season, and probably does not give an 
average annual yield of more than 3 tons an acre. At present alfalfa 
brings the largest returns when sold at the local minmg towns, but 
its permanent value depends on its worth when fed to Hve stock. 
The cattle in the region depend largely on the range, even in the win- 
ter, but the most thrifty ranchers appreciate the value of a reserve 
supply of hay to supplement the range, especially in severe winters. 
Alfalfa requires a large amount of water and some dependable crops 
could perhaps be found that would yield greater returns for the quan- 
tities of water used. 

UtiMzation of the supplies now going to waste would involve heavy 
costs and is practicable only to the extent that the developed water 
can do a large duty measured in financial returns. This requires 
crops of high value for the amount of water consumed, cultural 
methods that will spare the water supply as much as possible, and 
arrangements by which the developed water can do extra duty in sup- 
plementing existing irrigation supplies. Much can no doubt be 
accomplished along these lines if systematic experiments are under- 
taken by the State experiment station. 



IRRIGATION. 131 

IRRIGATION FROM WELLS. 
WELLS. 

Irrigation can be accomplished with water from flowing weUs and 
with water pumped from nonfiowing wells. Where flowing wells are 
used the expenditure for the weUs is practically the only item of cost 
that is chargeable to the water supply; where pumped wells are used 
the cost of the water includes not only the expenditure for the wells 
but also the cost of pumps, engmes or other source of power, and other 
necessary equipment, together with the operating expenses, which 
include fuel, lubricating oil, attendance, and repairs. However, 
in most vaUeys similar to Big Smoky VaUey that have been thoroughly 
tested, flowmg water can be obtained only in restricted areas, often 
where the soil is poor and where the yield of the weUs is relatively 
small; hence extensive developments are likely to require the installa- 
tion of pumping plants. 

Flowing wells are preferably finished with standard screw casing, 
6 to 8 inches in diameter. Where flows are not expected the double 
stovepipe casing is adequate and somewhat less expensive and can be 
used in sizes ranging in diameter from 8 to 12 inches. The depths to 
which it is advisable to sink irrigation wells differ from place to place 
and range from less than 100 feet to several hundi-ed feet. In some 
places a given quantity of water is obtained at the lowest cost by 
sinking one rather deep well; in others the same quantity is obtained 
at the lowest cost by sinkmg two or more shallow wells. If, however, 
two or more weUs are sunk in the same locality they should, for the 
sake of economy in operation, be connected, if practicable, with. the 
same pump. Great pams should be taken to develop the largest pos- 
sible yield from every weU by having the casing perforated at every 
satisfactory water-bearing bed with as many and as large perforations 
as is practicable, and by cleaning the well thoroughly by heavy 
pumping in order to remove the fine sediments and to produce a gravel 
strainer around the casing. Large yields not only keep down the cost 
for well construction per unit of water developed, but they also, by 
diminishing the drawdown, keep at a minimum the cost of lifting the 
water. 

PUMPS. 

Horizontal centrifugal pumps are in general the best pumps for 
liftmg irrigation supplies from wells in areas where the water table is 
not far below the surface. As only shallow-water areas are at present 
to be considered for reclamation by means of well water these pumps 
are recommended for use in Big Smoky Valley. They should be set 
in pits just above the high-water level and should draw from the weUs 
by suction. If a pump is not supplied with this manner of instal- 



132 BIG SMOKY VALLEY. 

lation by the well from which it draws, additional wells should be sunk 
and fitted with suction pipes that connect with the pump. The yield 
should, if possible, be determined by an experimental plant before the 
permanent outfit is bought and installed. At least ICO gallons a 
minute should be obtained from a well if a plant is to be fairly eco- 
nomical. A single weU yielding 100 gallons a minute can be pumped 
with a small centrifugal pimip for the irrigation of 10 to 15 acres, but 
the cost per acre-foot of water will be less if several such wells are 
sunk about 50 feet apart, and all are drawn upon by a single pump of 
larger capacity. Of course if each of a group of 5 wells yields ICO 
gallons a minute when pumped alone the total yield of aU pumped 
simultaneously will, on account of mutual interference, be consider- 
ably less than 500 gallons a minute. In some parts of the valley sev- 
eral hundred gallons a minute can probably be obtained from a single 
properly constructed well. 

The cost of pumping water depends largely on the efficiency of the 
pump and other machinery, and the efficiency depends on numerous 
mechanical details which are better understood by the mechanic than 
by the farmer but must be mastered by every farmer who hopes to 
make a success of pumping for irrigation. They are subjects of 
general apphcation, which can not be adequately discussed in this 
paper but which are admirably treated in a booklet by Charles A. 
Norcross, entitled "Irrigation pumping in Nevada," ^ and are treated 
also in various phases in the Government pubhcations fisted below. 
No one should undertake pumping for irrigation in Big Smoky Valley 
without first carefuUy reading the buUetin by Mr. Norcross. Some 
of the Government reports listed below are more or less out of date, 
owing to improvements made in pumping machinery since they were 
pubfished. Books issued by private pubfishing houses and the 
catalogues of firms that manufacture pumping machinery and engmes 
also contain much valuable information and advice on this subject. 
Most of the manufacturing firms employ engineers or expert mechanics 
who wiU assist farmers in planning installations suited to their par- 
ticular needs. 

Reports published by the United States Geological Surrey on pumping appliances.'^ 

Wilson, H. M., Pumping for irrigation: Water-Supply Paper 1, 1896. 

Murphy, E. C, Windmills for irrigation: Water-Supply Paper 8, 1897. 

Hood, O. P., New tests of certain pumps and water lifts used in imgatiou: Water- 
Supply Paper 14, 1898. 

Perry, T. O. Experiments with windmills: Water-Supply Paper 20, 1899. 

Barbour, E. H., Wells and windmills i.i Nebraska: Water-Supply Pajjer 29, 1899. 

Murphy, E. C, The windmill: Its efficiency and economic use, Part I: Water- 
Supply Paper 41, 1901. 

1 Norcross, C. A., Nevada Bur. Industry, Agr., and Irr. Bull. 8, 1913. 

2 Tlie older reports are largely out of date. Nos. 1, 8, 14, 20, 29, 41, and 42 are out of stock. Most of the 
rest are no longer available for free distribution but can be purchased from the Superintendent of Docu- 
ments, Government Printing OfiBce, Washington, D. C. 



IP.PJf4ATI0N. 133 

Murphy, E. C, The windmill: Its efficiency and economic use, Part II; Water- 
Supply Paper 42, 1901. 

Slichter, C. S., Field measurements ol" the rate of movement of underground 
waters: Water-Supply Paper 140, 1905. 

Slighter, C. S., Observations on the ground waters of Rio Grande valley: Water- 
Supply Paper 141, 1905. 

Slighter, C. S., The underflow in Arkansas Valley in western Kansas: Water- 
Supply Paper 153, 1906. 

Slighter, C. S., The underflow of the South Platte Valley: Water-Supply Paper 
184, 1906. 

Meinzer, 0. E., Kelton, F. C, and Forbe.s, R. H., Geology and water resources 
of Sulphur Spring Valley, Ariz.: Water-Supply Paper 320, 1913. Also published 
as a bulletin of the Arizona Agricultural Experiment Station. 

Bryan, Kirk, Ground water for irrigation in Sacramento Valley, Cal.: W^ater- 
Supply Paper 375, pp. 1-49, 1915. 

Mendenhall, W. C, Dole, R. B., and Stabler, Herman, Ground water in San 
Joaquin Valley, Cal.: Water-Supply Paper 398, 191G. 

Reports published by the United States Department of Agriculture on pumping appliances. 

Mead, Elwood, The relation of irrigation to dry farming: Yearbook for 1905, pp. 
423-438. 

Le Conte, J. N., and Tait, C. E., Mechanical tests of pumping plants in California: 
Bull. 181, 1907. 

Gregory, W. B., The selection and installation of machinery for small pumping 
plants: Cir. 101, 1910. 

Fuller, P. E., The use of windmills in irrigation in the semiarid West: Farmers' 
Bull. 394, 1910. 

POWER. 

The cost of the power is usually the largest single item in the total 
cost of pumped well water. With a given efficiency the power nec- 
essary to pump an acre-foot of water is directly proportional to the 
height that the water is lifted. When the pump is operated the 
water surface in the well is drawn down from its normal level to some 
lower level, where it usually remains approximately stationary while 
the pump is running; but when the pump is stopped the water in 
the well returns about to its normal level. The total hft is the dis- 
tance from the water level while the pump is in operation to the 
level of the outlet of the discharge pipe; that is, it is the depth to 
water table plus the drawdown. If the depth to the water table is 
25 feet and the drawdown with a certain rate of pumping is 15 feet 
the total lift is 40 feet. 

Possible sources of power that may be considered for irrigation 
pumping m Big Smoky Valley are (1) electric current from com- 
mercial lines, (2) distillate used in small internal-combustion engines 
installed at the individual pumping plants, (3) electric cun-ent pro- 
duced by a central power plant using low-grade distillate or other 
fuel shipped into the valley, (4) electric current produced by a power 
plant at the coal mines near Blair Junction, and (5) electric current 
produced from local water power. 



134 



BTG SIVrOKY VAI.LF.Y. 



The line of the Nevada-Cahfornia Power Co. crosses the area in 
the lower valley in which depth to water is less than 50 feet and runs 
to Round Mountain, which is less than 5 miles from the similar area 
in the upper valley, but an extension of many miles would be required 
to bring the current to the northern part of the shallow-water area 
of the upper valley. (Pis. I and II.) According to the schedule of 
rates for industrial power effective March 5, 1914, in the region in 
which Big Smoky Valley is situated the charge for electric current 
is 3i cents per kilowatt-hour if less than 1,000 kilowatt-hours are 
used in a month and, according to a sliding scale, is somewhat 
lower if tnore current is used. The cost of electric power at 3 J 
cents per kilowatt-hour in a plant with an efficiency of 40 per cent 
is shown for various lifts in the following table: 

Cost of electric current for pumping at SI cents per Jnloioatt-hour with 40 per cent efficiency. 







Annual cost 


Pumping 


Cost for 1 
acre-foot 


for 1 acre, 
assuming 


lift (feet). 


depth of 






irrigation 






of 2J feet. 


10 


SO-SO 


$2.00 


20 


1.60 


4.00 


30 


2.40 


6.00 


40 


3.20 


8.00 


50 


4.00 


10.00 



The most practical source of power during at least the experi- 
mental stage of pumping consists of internal combustion engines 
using distillate and installed at the pumpmg units. The installa- 
tions should be approximately as shown in figure 10. A shelter 
should be made for the engine and well and they should be protected 
from floods. With distillate costing 15 cents per gallon, with an 
engine developing 1 horsepower-hour on one-seventh gallon, and 
with a pump and drive having 35 per cent efficiency, the cost for 
fuel is nearly the same as the cost for electric current shown in the 
above table.^ Recently much progress has been made in adapting 
small internal combustion engines to the use of low-grade distillates, 
which are much cheaper than gasoline or other high-grade distillate.^ 

The Coaldale coal deposits, a few miles southwest of Blair Junction, 
have been described by J. H. Hance,^ of the United States Geological 
Survey, who makes the following statement : 

The analyses show that the coal has a high heat value and is bituminous, but this 
desirable feature is partly offset by a high percentage of ash-making constituents. 

1 Norcross, C. A., Irrigation pumping in Nevada: Nevada Bur. Industry, Agr., and Irr. Bull. 8, p. 37, 
1913. 

- Smith, G. E. P., Oil engines for pump irrigation: Arizona Agr. Exper. Sta. Bull. 74, 1915. 

3 Hance, J. H., The Coaldale coal field, Esmeralda County, Nev.: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. .Wl, p. 322, 
1913. 



lEETGATTON, 



135 



The coal keeps well, slacks very little, and may meet an economical and efficient 
use in the gas producer. By using it as a gas coal, a i^ower plant might be established 
at the mines, and the neighboring towns and camps supplied with electric power more 
cheaply than under present conditions. However, it probably will not bear transpor- 
tation charges, such as prevail in this State, and can scarcely have extensive use as 
a domestic fuel. 

No power plant should, however, be constructed, until irrigation 
with ground water has passed the experimental stage and a supply 
large enough to justify the necessary expenditure has been assured. 

The streams that discharge into the upper valley have steep 
slopes but carry little water, especially in late summer. The cost 




Note: The belt should be run 
at a pitch of not more than 
45° to avoid excessive loss 
of power fronn slipping 



Figure 10. — Pumping plant, consisting of a horizontal centrifugal pump driven by an internal combustion 

engine. After Noreross. 

of developing water power from these streams for pumping would 
probably be prohibitive, but the matter is worthy of investigation. 
According to current-meter measurements made October 1, 1914, 
Kingston Creek discharged 6.68 and 7.21 second-feet at two points 
3^ miles apart and differing in elevation, according to aneroid de- 
termination, not less than 800 feet. During most of the irrigation 
season the flow is no doubt considerably greater. With an over-all 
efficiency of 33 J per cent, the power from 7^ second-feet of water 
falling '800 feet would lift 50 second-feet of well water from a depth 
of 40 feet. At $3,000 per second-foot, the value of this quantity of 
water would be $150,000. 

COST. 

The most uncertain item in the initial cost of a pumping plant is 
the cost of the wells, the uncertainty in this item being due to the 



136 ETG SMOKY VALLEY. 

large local variations in the depth and yield of water-bearing heds 
and the impossibility of predicting the depth and yield accmately. 
If a well 100 feet deep yields 450 gallons a minute and the drilling and 
casmg cost $2 a foot the cost for this item is only $200 a second-foot; 
but if a well 200 feet deep yields only 100 gallons a minute the cost, 
at the same rate for drilling and casing, is $1,800 a second-foot. 

If the cost of a pumping plant with one second-foot capacity is 
$1,200, including weUs, pump, engine, and accessories, the interest 
on the investment at 7 per cent amomits to $84 a year, and the 
depreciation and repairs reckoned at 10 per cent of the initial cost, 
amount to $120 a year, making the annual charge for interest, depre- 
ciation, and repairs $204. If the plant is operated an average of 12 
hours a day for 100 days it will 3d eld 100 acre-feet during the irriga- 
tion season. The charge for interest, depreciation, and repahs wiU 
therefore on these assumptions bje $2.04 per acre-foot of water. This 
charge must be added to the cost of operation in order to ascertain 
the total cost of the water. 

If the cost for power is as shown in the table on page 134 and the 
total lift is 40 feet, the cost per acre-foot will be $3.20 plus $2.04, or a 
total of $5.24, exclusive of labor, lubricating oil, taxes, and the con- 
ducting and applying of the water to the fields. This is the cost of 
the water delivered by the pump and does not take account of any 
loss in storage or distribution. On the above assumptions, disregard- 
ing loss, the annual cost of power, interest, depreciation, and repairs 
will amount to $13.10 per acre, if 2^ feet of water are applied during 
the irrigation season. 

If there is poor success with the wells, if the lift is higher than 40 
feet, if fuel costing more than 15 cents a gallon is used, if the instal- 
lation is poor or the operation of the pump and engine is miskillful, 
if the plant is in operation less of the time or breakdowns are frequent, 
or if more water is required per acre, the cost per acre may be higher 
than calculated above. If there is very good success with the wells, 
if the lift is less than 40 feet, if the cost of electric current is less than 
3^ cents a kilowatt-hour, or the cost of distillate less than 15 cents a 
gallon, if the efficiency of the plant is higher than assvmaed, or if by 
good methods of irrigation and cultivation or the wise selection of 
crops the duty of the water is increased, the cost per acre may be 
lower than calculated above. 

At present pumping for irrigation is probably practicable only (1) 
for raismg high-priced -crops or (2) for raising ordinary crops where 
conditions are exceptionally favorable. The principal favorable 
conditions referred to are (1) soil that is not mjmiously alkahne, 
sandy, or gravelly, (2) small depth to the water table (not much more 
than 10 feet), and (3) water-bearing beds at moderate depths that 
will yield freely. 



TRFiTaATTON". 



137 



The following table gives the estimated costs of the water thus far 
obtained from flowing wells, the cost of drilling and casing being 
calculated at the same rate as in the Jones wells (p. Ill), although the 
actual cost for some of the wells was greater. 

Estimated cost of irrigation water developed from flowing wells in Big Smolcy Valley. 





Depth of 
well. 


Cost of 
well. 


Yield— 


Cost per 
second- 
foot. 




Owner. 


Per 
minute. 


Seeond- 

feet. 


Per 

season of 
150 days. 


Cost per 
acre-foot.a 


Fred Jones 


Feet. 

127 S221. 10 
68 1 112. 20 
101 j 167.00 
90 148.50 
40 ! 66. 00 
133 (?) ; 219. 45C?^ 


Onllo-ns. 
120 
30 
40 

} 30 

10(7) 


0.267 
.067 
.089 

.067 

.022(7) 


Acre-feet. 
79.4 
19.8 
26.5 

19.7 

6.6 (?) 


S225 
1,675 
1,870 

3,200 

9,975(7) 


SO. 47 


Do 


.96 


A. B. Millett 


1.07 


Ed Turner 




Do 




Frank Gendron 


5.65 (?) 











a Interest at 7 per cent and depreciation at 10 per cent. 

The estimate of 10 per cent a year for depreciation in pumping 
plants and flowing wells is arbitrary. The depreciation will probably 
be as great in flowing wells as in pumping plants but it will involve 
different factors. It will not include the wear and tear of pumps 
and engines but it will include the gradual diminution in yield that 
characterizes many flowing wells, especially where there is much 
development. 

The above table shows that in the areas where flows of any con- 
sequence can be obtained the cost of artesian water is much less than 
the cost of pumped water. WeUs can profitably be sunk to obtain 
water for irrigation in all such areas even though the soil may contain 
imdesirable amounts of alkaU, as is generally true where flows are 
obtained. However, the satisfactory flowing-well areas will no doubt 
be found to be small and easily overdeveloped, and the reclamation 
of any considerable amount of land wiU probably be possible only by 
pumping. 

FAVORABLE AREAS. 

The areas best adapted for the development of ground water for 
irrigation in the upper valley are shown as nearly as is possible in 
Plate I. The tracts best adapted for pumping he within the area 
that is bounded on the one side by the area of alkali soil and on the 
other by the hues of 50 feet depth to water. 

Beginning in the axial part of the valley east of Spencer's ranch, 
the principal tract widens southward tiU it reaches the alkali area, 
thence it extends as a broad belt along the northwest flank of the 
alkali area to the latitude of Schmidtlein's ranch, thence as a nar- 
rower belt on the west side of the alkah area nearly to Millett, where 
it becomes very narrow. From the Jones ranch it extends as a belt 



138 BIG SMOKY VALLEY. 

of moderate width nearly to the Logan ranch, where it again be- 
comes very narrow. A short distance south of Moore's ranch it 
expands into a belt of moderate width and thence extends to Wood's 
ranch and southward for at least several miles along the axis of the 
valley. It also includes a belt on the east side of the alkali area 
that extends northward to the Crowell ranch. A few small tracts 
may be found in other locaHties on the east side. The areas most 
promising for irrigation with artesian water are the lower parts of 
the tract just outlined and small parts of the alkali area, especially 
along its west margin. 

The area best adapted to pumping in the lower vaUey is in the 
vicinity of Millers and is shown on Plate II as boimded on the south- 
west by the alkali area and on its other three sides by the line repre- 
senting a depth of 50 feet to water. If any flowing wells of value 
for irrigation are obtained in the lower valley they will probably be 
in the lower part of this area, but the prospects even there are not 
especially good. The rest of the lower valley is practically without 
prospects. 

CONCLUSIONS. 

1 . Several tens of thousands of acre-feet of ground water is probably 
contributed each year to the underground reservoirs of Big Smoky 
Valley. A part of this supply could be recovered for irrigation. 

2. Most of this water is in the upper valley, but a part is in the 
vicinity of Millers in the lower valley. 

3. The water is in general of satisfactory quality for irrigation. 
Nearly aU the poor water is in the southwestern part of the lower 
valley, where prospects for irrigation are practically lacking. 

4. A small part of the ground-water supply can be recovered by 
flowing wells, but full use of the supply is possible only by pumping. 

5. Throughout the extensive areas in which the depth to the 
water table does not exceed 10 feet the soil contains injiu-ious 
amounts of alkali. 

6. In the areas in which the depth to the water table ranges be- 
tween 10 and 50 feet there is enough good soil to utihze all the availa- 
ble ground water. These areas, however, also contain considerable 
gravelly, sandy, and alkaline soil. 

7. There are some prospects of obtaining flowing wells wherever 
the water table is near the surface, but the prospects are best on the 
west side of the upper vaUey. 

8. The flowing-well areas will ba fomid to lie chiefly within the 
areas of alkali soil, but they may extend into adjacent areas of good 
soil. 

9. Fiill utilization of the ground-water supply for irrigation wiU 
not be economically practicable until cheaper power or more valuable 
crops can be introduced than are now in sight. 



TERTGATTON-, 139 

10. Developments that may be practicable at present are (a) the 
sinkmg of flowing weUs of moderate depths in the restricted areas 
where fairly copious flows can be obtained and the soil is not irre- 
claimably alkaline; (b) the sinking of nonflowing wells and the 
installation of pumping plants for raising high-priced crops or for 
raising ordinary crops in localities where the conditions are excep- 
tionally favorable or where the well water can be used to supplement 
surface-water supphes. 

11. The raising of high-priced crops is practicable to only a small 
extent. Vegetables and small fruits could, it is believed, be profita- 
bly raised in the vicinity of Millers to supply Tonopah, Goldfield, 
and other local markets. 

12. The principal favorable conditions necessary to make pimap- 
ing profitable for raising ordinary crops, such as alfalfa, are soil that 
is not injuriously alkahne, sandy, or gravelly; small depths to the 
water table (not much more than 10 feet) ; and water-bearing beds 
that he at moderate depths and will yield freely. 

13. Ground-water developments along some of the lines indicated 
could be made by the ranchers now in the vaUey, who could afford to 
take some chances and who could advantageously use the weU water 
to supplement their fluctuating supphes of surface water. 

14. A small number of new settlers could probably make a liveli- 
hood by irrigating with ground water in Big Smoky VaUey provided 
they had a few thousand dollars each to make the necessary develop- 
ments and used good judgment as to location, 

15. Existing conditions do not warrant the influx of a large num- 
ber of settlers nor of any without means to sink weUs and make other 
necessary improvements. Ill-advised immigration will inevitably 
lead to disappointment and suffering. 



CLAYTON VALLEY. 

LOCATION AND DEVELOPMENTS. 

Clayton Valley comprises an area of about 570 square miles in Es- 
meralda County, Nev., between tbe 117th and 118th meridians, and. 
just south of the 38th parallel. It is bounded on the north by the 
southwestern part of the basin of Big Smoky Valley, on the east by 
the basin of Alkali Spring Valley, in which Goldfield is situated, and 
by another small basin, and on the west and south by the basin of 
Fish Lake Valley. It extends within about 7 miles of the California 
State line. Its principal settlement is Blair, which is connected by 
the Silver Peak Railroad with the Goldfield & Tonopah Raih-oad 
at Blair Junction. At Blair is a 120-stamp mill, in which the metals, 
chiefly gold, are removed from ore3 mined in the vicinity. The site 
of the old mining town of Silver Peak is 3 miles south of Blair. 
(See fig. 1 and PL XIII.) 

PHYSIO GRAPHY. 

The basin includes a mountainous border, a playa, and an alluvial 
slope that extends like a huge hopper from the mountains to the 
playa. 

A crescentic belt of the Silver Peak Range, more than 30 miles long, 
nearly 5 miles in average width, and in a number of places reaching 
altitudes of more than 9,000 feet above sea level, discharges its water 
and detritus into the valley from the west and south. A considerable 
area, culminating in Montezuma Mountain, 8,426 feet above sea level, 
discharges into the valley from the east, and an area culminating in 
Lone Mountain discharges, from altitudes reaching up to 8,500 feet 
above sea level, into the valley from the northeast, chiefly through 
Paymaster Canyon. The vaUey is separated from Alkali Spring 
Valley only by a narrow rock divide and from Big Smoky VaUey by 
a broader but lower divide covered in part by detritus. 

The alluvial slope is broadest on the south and southwest, whence 
the largest contributions of detritus are received. Apparently little 
detritus reaches the valley from Paymaster Canyon. The even sur- 
faces of the alluvial slopes are interrupted by numerous rock buttes 
and by gravelly ridges, which are probably outcrops of Tertiary or 
early Pleistocene deposits, as well as by sand dunes, some of which 
are large. 

140 




01 aoout ou leex xo tne water 
table 



'22 



Well or test boring 

(.Number indicate* de«ian*tion of vutt 
or boring in the text) 



Geology chiefly after J. E. Spurr, 
H. W. Turner, and S. H. Ball 



R. 37 E. 



U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 



WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 423 PLATE XIII 



ll^-ie' R 38 E 



IWSO" R 40 L 




R. 38 E. llT°i5' 



R. 40 E. 117-80' 



LEGEND 



Playa deposits of clay and salt. 
Nearly destitute of vegeta- 
tion. Water table within a 
few feet of the surface, and 
ground water being dis- 
charged through the soil 
into the atmosphere 



Gravel, sand, and clay 
Chiefly stream deposits 



Tertiary and early Pleisto- 
cene (?) stratified rocks 



Tertiary lavas, granitic rocks, 
and Paleozoic limestone, 
slate, and quartzite 



Outer boundary of zone of salt 
grass (Distichlis epicata) 
and of ground-water dis- 
charge. Depth to water a 
little over 10 feet 



Outer boundary of zone of 
iodine weed (Suaeda iorrey- 
ana) and of soil containing 
considerable alkali 



Line showing predicted depth 
of about 60 feet to the water 
table 



Well or test boring 

{Numhtr indicatet dttignittion ofW4U 
or boring in tJie text) 



Geology chiefly after J. E. Spurr, 
H. W. Turner, and S. H, Ball 



MAP OF THE DRAINAGE BASIN OF CLAYTON VALLEY, NEVADA™'"""""""""""'" ' 
Showing geology, vegetation, and ground-water conditions 

Scale 'iSopEo 



Conto-or intei-i^al 100 feet. 






Viirivi-'v, . ^ ^■.•^ 



GEOLOGY. 141 

The playa is about 10 miles long, 3 miles wide, and 32 square miles 
in area. At a bench mark on the southeast side the altitude is 4,271 
feet above sea level, or nearly a mile below the highest peaks at the 
margin of the basiii. The playa Hes in the northern part of the 
basin, having been crowded away from the large mountains that 
yield much detritus toward the low divides that yield little. It is 
flat and barren, and quite distinct from the tributary alluvial slopes, 
both in topography and in the character of the underlying sediments. 
It is largely covered with salt, except when it is temporarily sub- 
merged by a thin sheet of water. A striking feature of the playa is 
a group of rock buttes that bear a compelling resemblance to islands 
in a sea of water. The largest, which is called Goat "Island," doubt- 
less after the island of that name in San Francisco Bay, covers nearly 
one-fourth square mile, and rises about 350 feet above the flat. Al- 
catraz "Island," a smaller butte, is shown in Plate XIV, taken from 
an excellent photograph by C. D. Walcott. 

GEOLOGY. 

Tlie pre-Quaternary rock systems are, with certain exceptions, the 
same as those exposed in the basin of Big Smoky VaUey (pp. 51-56). 
They consist of (1) Paleozoic limestone, slate, and some impure 
quartzite, (2) granitic rocks intrusive into the Paleozoic strata, (3) 
Tertiary lavas, and (4) Tertiary sedimentary beds. Almost no field 
work was done on the bedrocks, the geology shown on the map 
(PL XIII) being taken with slight modifications from the maps of 
Spurr ^ and Ball,^ which, however, are not whoUy in accord. The 
Tertiary sedimentary rocks are shown separately on the map because 
of their probable influence on the salt content of the Quaternary 
deposits and the water they contain. The large area of Tertiary 
rocks on the east side of the valley was mapped by Ball as Siebert 
lake beds, but the other outcrops belong chiefly or wholly to the 
Esmeralda formation, which borders the southwestern part of the 
Big Smoky Valley (pp. 53-56). 

The Quaternary lava shown on the map as lying 2 miles northeast 
of Blair includes a basaltic cinder cone whose east side disappeared, 
allowing the lava to flow out m that direction and leaving a deep 
crater with a horseshoe rim. The weathering and gullying that 
have taken place show that this cone is older than many of the 
cinder cones of the West and places it without much question in the 
Pleistocene rather than the Recent epoch. 

The Quaternary sedimentary beds consist of three distinct forma- 
tions: (1) The graveUy stream deposits, which on account of the 

' Spurr, J. E., Ore deposits of the Silver Peak quadrangle, Nev.: TJ. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper SS, 
1906. 

2 Ball, S. H., A geologic reconnaissance in southwestern Nevada and eastern California: U. S. Geol. 
Survey Bull. 308, 1907. 



142 CLAYTON VALLEY. 

''desert pavements" at the surface appear to be more gravelly than 
they really are ; (2) the dmie sands, which are large shifting masses 
in the area south of the playa; and (3) the playa deposits, the char- 
acter of which has been shown by an interesting series of borings 
(Nos. 1 to 14 in PI. XIII) made by Dole.^ The Quaternary fiU is 
probably underlain in most places at no very great depths by Ter- 
tiary sedimentary beds and is probably derived in large part from 
the erosion of these beds, after they were deformed, as is suggested 
by Spurr. Tertiary sediments doubtless once rested on the older 
rocks in the lower parts of the mountains in places from which they 
have been removed by erosion. 

The logs of the 14 borings made by Dole, the deepest of which 
extended 55 feet below the surface, are summarized by him as 
f oUows : 2 

Brown mud 5 to 20 feet deep forms the upper layer of the marsh. Because of the 
intense heat the surface of this mud is usually baked dry and hard enough to support 
the weight of teams. Small scattered tracts have become dry enough to be pulverulent 
for a depth of 1 to 2 feet, but over the greater part of the playa 4-foot holes are sufii- 
ciently deep to strike soft mud. As this layer is composed of very small particles 
and contains a large proportion of clay, the strong salt waters in it circulate very 
slowly. The mud contains a great quantity of salt, though the crystals are small. 
The brines obtained from it are very strong, and the surface is generally covered 
to a depth of one-eighth to one-quarter of an inch by a white crust of salt that has 
crystallized from solutions drawn to the surface by capillarity. 

The upper mud along the west shore of the playa, particularly west of the "islands," 
contains nodules of calcareous tufa, which apparently have been formed by deposi- 
tion of calcium carbonate from the hard waters percolating into the marsh from Mineral 
Ridge. The record of boring No. 13 shows that clay under the mud west of the 
"islands" is underlain by white tufaceous materials, but no salt occui's at a depth 
less than 41 feet except that in the abundant weak brines. 

Well-defined beds of clay containing crystals of gypsum were penetrated east of 
Goat "Island " in borings Nos. 3 and 6, and these are underlain by beds of crystallized 
salt containing saturated brine. Very stiff black, blue, red, gi'ay, and brown clays 
underlie the beds of salt or mixed salt and clay in boring No. 3 to a depth of 55 feet, 
but in boring No. 6 the clays are interrupted by a stratum of gypsum-bearing clay 
below the salt and a 6-inch stratum of salt at 47 feet below which clay was again 
encountered. 

Except a shallow bed of light-gray calcareous material at 16 feet nothing but clay 
containing weak brine was struck to a depth of 40 feet in boring No. 14, at the south 
end of the playa. 

Borings Nos. 11 and 12 indicate that the beds of salt in the northeastern part of the 
marsh are denser than those farther south. The mud is underlain by clay and that 
in turn by crystallized salt so hard that it has to be drilled. A much harder formation, 
probably calcareous tufa, was struck below the salt in both borings at a depth of about 
36 feet. 

The data afforded by the six deeper borings lead to the conclusion that the north- 
eastern two-thirds of the playa is underlain at a depth of about 20 feet l^y beds 
5 to 15 feet thick of crystallized salt mixed with more or less clay. It is doul)tful 

1 Dole, R. B., Exploration of salines in Silver Peak Marsh, Nev.: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 530, pp. 330-345, 
1913. 

2 Idem, pp. 338-340. 



OCCUEKElSrCE AND LEVEL OF GROUND WATER, 143 

if deposits of so great extent occur west of Goat " Island " or south of Alcatraz "Island." 
Besides these beds practically all other strata to a depth of 50 feet contain appreciable 
proportions of salt that readily dissolves in water percolating through them. 

The remarkable feature of this playa is the large amount of salt 
that it contains. As suggested by Dole, most of this salt was probably 
derived by leaching from the Tertiary strata, which, according to 
Spurr, are part of the deposits of interior lakes and would therefore 
probably contain saline materials. The salt deposits underlying the 
present playa are, according to this explanation, reconcentrations of 
the salt that was contained in the basin at the beginning of the 
Quaternary period. The relatively large amounts of chlorine suggest 
that part of the salt may have been derived from sea water (p. 146). 

No physiographic evidence of the existence of an ancient lake has 
been found, but the thick beds of buried salt can not well be accounted 
for except on the assumption that they are desiccation products of 
ancient salt lakes. There is no difficulty in assuming that in the 
humid epoch, when large lakes existed in Big Smoky Valley, the 
water supply of Clayton VaUey was sufficient to form at least a small 
permanent lake. Dole suggested the possibility of an overflow into 
Clayton Valley from a large lake in the lower Big Smoky Valley, but the 
highest beaches observed in the lower Big Smoky VaUey are less than 
4,800 feet above sea level, or considerably below the lowest point of 
the divide, and no indications of overflow were found. Moreover, in 
view of the fact that the upper valley contained a lake of its own and 
shows no signs of overflow, it is improbable that a lake would have 
formed in the lower valley large enough to have reached a level neces- 
sary for discharge into Clayton Valley. 

OCCURRENCE AND LEVEL OF GROUND WATER. 

On the map (PL XIII) Nos. 1 to 14 represent borings made by 
Dole, all of which yielded brine. No. 15 represents a large dug well 
at the edge of the playa just below Blair. It formerly furnishqd the 
water supply for the miU at Blair but was abandoned on account of 
the saltness of the water. No. 16 represents a large excavation which 
receives water from springs that issue from Umestone at the 
edge of the playa and are reported to yield 350,000 gallons a day. 
These springs furnish the supply for Blair through a pipe line. No. 
17 represents a well at the transformer station of the Nevada-Cali- 
fornia Power Co. No. 18 represents a shallow well at the ranch of 
Fred Meginnes which yields a potable supply and is more or less typi- 
cal of a group of shallow wells finding water just above bedrock. 

Nos. 19 to 22 represent abandoned dug weUs. Hot and cold springs 
yielding salty water issue along the edge of the playa between Blair 
and Silver Peak and at the northeast end of the playa. The data as 
to the depths and water levels of some of the borings and wells are 



144 



CLAYTON VALLEY. 



given in the following table, the data for Nos. 1 to 14 being for May or 
June, 1912,, and those for Nos. 15 to 22 for October, 1913. 

Depths and water levels of test borings and wells in Clayton Valley, Nev. 



No. 


Depth of 
hole. 


Depth at 
which 

water was 
struck. 


Depth at 

which 

water 

stood in 

completed 
hole. 


No. 


Depth of 
hole. 


Depth at 
wnich 

water was 
struck. 


Depth at 

which 

water 

stood in 

completed 

hole. 


1 


Feet. 
29.0 
14.0 
55.0 
11.5 
12.5 
52.0 
17.0 
13.0 
13.0 
8.0 


Feet. 


Feet. 
2.0 
2.5 
2.3 
2.5 


11 


Feel. 
38.3 
36.0 
41.0 
40.0 
38.0 


Feet. 

22.5 

8.5 

4.0 

8.0 


Feet. 

6.5 


2. 


4.0 
4.0 
3.0 
2.0 
21.0 
4.0 
(a) 

(«) 
3.0 


12 


1.8 


3 


13 


1.0 


4 


14 


4.0 


5- - . 


15 


4.5 


6 




19 




12 5 




2.5 


20 






11 


8 


21 


28.0 
40.0 




23.0 


9 




22 




32 


10 

















No water. 



The data afforded by these borings and the character of the vege- 
tation and the soil show that the valley fill acts as a reservoir, just as 
it does in Big Smoky Valley, and that this reservoir is filled with water 
practically to the level of the playa. The shallow-water area is closely 
confined to the playa except on the southwest, where it extends 
along the axis of the valley several miles beyond the end of the playa, 
as is shown in Plate XIII. In this part of the valley the average 
width of the zone in which the depth to the water table is between 
10 and 50 feet is believed to be about a mile. 



SOURCE AND DISCHARGE OF GROUND WATER. 

The climate of Clayton Valley is distinctly arid, and is comparable 
to that of the lower part of the lower Big Smoky VaUey. (See p. 67.) 
The tributary mountain areas also appear arid although they doubt- 
less receive considerably more precipitation than the vaUey. The 
Silver Peak Range contains numerous small sprmgs, but the water 
supply is insufficient to maintain any permanent streams. Neverthe- 
less the total quantity of water annually precipitated on the basin 
is large, and part of it finds its way into the underground reservoir. 
There is evidence that water is also received undergromid from 
Alkali Spring Valley and possibly contributions are received from 
other adjacent basins, all of which are considerably higher than the 
playa of Clayton Valley. 

The playa covers about 32 square miles, but the total area with 
ground-water discharge is not less than 40 square miles, or 25,000 
acres. South of the playa there is an area of salt grass, indicating 
shallow water, over several square miles. Salt grass is found even 
where the depth to the water table sfightly exceeds 10 feet, and at 



SOIL AND VEGETATION. 145 

well No. 21 the capillary rise is 11.5 feet. The denseness of the clay- 
that underlies most of the playa and the small amomit of salt concen- 
trated at the surface indicate that the rate of ground-water evapora- 
tion on the playa is not rapid, but the total discharge from the basin 
probably amounts to several thousand acre-feet a year, 

SOIL AND VEGETATION. 

Gravelly soil is found on the upper and middle parts of the alluvial 
slopes, and it extends to the edge of the playa almost everywhere 
except on the south side. Gravelly soil also covers the low hills south 
of Silver Peak that are shown on the map (PL XIII) as Tertiary or 
early Pleistocene deposits. South of the playa the line of 50-foot 
depth to water west of the dune area roughly marks the inner limit of 
soil that is too gravelly for agriculture, although there is some very 
gravelly soil inside and some fairly good loam soil outside of this line. 
Extremely sandy soil is found in the area shown on the map as covered 
by dune sands and in some adjacent areas that lack dune topography. 

The playa is destitute of vegetation except near the margin, where 
scattered samphire (SpirostacJiys occidentalis) and salt grass {Distich- 
lis spicata) maintain an existence. Around the playa, where the 
depth to the water table does not greatly exceed 10 feet there is a 
zone of salt grass, with some rabbit brush (Chrysoihamnus graveolens), 
samphire, and iodine weed (Suaeda torreyana). This zone is narrow 
except south of the playa, where it expands into an area of consider- 
able size, indicated on the map. Within the salt-grass zone there is 
doubtless too much alkali, chiefly sodium chloride, for successful agri- 
culture. Outside of this zone in the part of the valley south of the 
playa there is a zone in which iodine weed, big greasewood (Sarcolfatus 
vermiculatus) , the tall shrubby salt bush (Atriplex torreyi) and the 
common spiny salt bush (Atriplex confertifolia) are associated (PI. 
XIII). The soil in this zone contains some alkali, but not as much as 
the salt-grass zone, the amount of alkali apparently differing from 
place to place. Outward from this area, in the direction of the moun- 
tains, first the iodine weed and then the big greasewood and Atriplex 
torreyi disappear or become scarce, while the common salt bush (Atri- 
lex confertifolia), often called shadscale, becomes dominant. Over 
the extensive gravelly and arid tracts of the middle and upper parts 
of the alluvial slopes this salt bush maintains its supremacy. 

It is evident from the above discussion that most of the soil of Clay- 
ton Valley is too gravelly, sandy, or alkaline for cultivation, but 
there is a small area, lying chiefly between the 50-foot line and the 
salt-grass boundary, that can apparently be classed as agricultural 
soil. Several analyses of soils from this valley are given in the table 
on page 161. 

46979°— wsp 423—17 10 



146 CLAYTOlSr VALLEY. 

« 

QUALITY OF WATER. 

All the ground waters of Clayton Valley that were examined are 
highly mineralized. Those beneath the playa are saturated brines. 
The mountain springs, which were not examined, doubtless contain 
less mineral matter than the wells and springs in the valley. The best 
waters are those from the large spring and the wells in the village 
of Silver Peak, which supply Silver Peak and Blair. Even these 
waters are, however, highly mineralized, as is shown by the analyses 
on pages 154 and 157. 

Sodium and chlorine are in excess of other mineral constituents. 
The brines below the playa contain little except sodium chloride and 
this salt predominates in all waters that have been analyzed (p. 158). 
The supply from the well of the Nevada-California Power Co., which 
is the least mineralized water analyzed, contains 548 parts per million 
of chlorine, and the spring water that is supphed to Blair contains 
about 800 parts. In well No. 21, where the water table is 23 feet be- 
low the surface, the chlorine content is 1,665 parts per million, and in 
well No. 22, where the v/ater table is 32 feet below the surface, the 
chlorine content is 1,165 parts. 

The water differs from that of Big Smoky Valley in being not of the 
black alkali type. Instead of containing sodium in excess of chlorine 
and the sulphate radicle, many of the samples, including the four just 
mentioned, contain chlorine in excess of sodium and potassium. The 
large amounts of sodium in the waters of Clayton Valley can be ac- 
counted for by ordinary processes of concentration; the excess of 
chlorine may be due to concentration of sea water in the Tertiary 

period. 

GROUND-WATER PROSPECTS. 

Clayton Valley was examined at the time of the Big Smoky Valley 
investigation partly because of local interest in the feasibility of 
irrigation with well water. A pumping plant with a 5-horsepower 
gasoline engine is reported to have been in operation at well No. 22 
during two seasons for the irrigation of garden truck. Failure is said 
to have been due to the work of chipmunks and wind-driven sand 
and to the large quantities of water required by the gravelly soil. 
The information available indicates that although water underlies 
Clayton Valley in considerable quantities it can not be successfully 
utilized for irrigation because of its saline character and other unfa- 
vorable conditions. 



ALKALI SPRING VALLEY. 
LOCATION AND DEVELOPMENT. 

Alkali Spring Valley lies almost entirely ia Esmeralda Comity, Nev., 
south of Big Smoky Valley and east of Clayton VaUey. The drainage 
basin embraces an area of only 310 square miles but, Hke the basins of 
Big Smoky VaUey and Clayton Valley, it has no drainage outlet. 
Goldfield is in the southern part of the basin, and Tonopah is only 3 
miles from its north edge= It is crossed by the Tonopah & Goldfield 
RaUroad, which at Goldfield connects with the Las Vegas & Tonopah 
and the Tonopah & Tidewater lines. In 1913 Goldfield was an im- 
portant mining and milling center, although not so active as m 
earlier years. (See p. 13.) Aside from Goldfield there are a few old 
minmg locaMties in the mountains surrounding the valley, and m the 
valley itself there are several wells that have been sunk in connection 
with mining developments. (See PI. XV.) 

PHYSIOGRAPHY. 

Tlie mountainous areas tributary to Alkali Spring Valley are low, 
disconnected, and arid. The highest point is Montezuma Peak, 
8,426 feet above sea level. The other peaks are only barren buttes. 
There are no streams and almost no springs withm the mountamous 
areas. 

The valley consists of a funnel-shaped alluvial slope that drains 
from all dhections .toward an interior playa, occupying the lowest part 
of the basin at a level 4,850 feet above the sea. The funnel is, how- 
ever, not symmetrical, as the slope is about 5 miles wide on the east 
side, whence most of the detritus is derived, and much narrower and 
steeper on the west side, along the narrow mountain wall that sepa- 
rates the valley from Clayton VaUey. The playa is a clay flat cover- 
ing about 5 square miles. It is destitute of vegetation over most of 
its area, but in some parts contains clumps of greasewood or other 
bushes. Except at its northeast end it is rather definitely separated 
from the surromiding slope by its flat, barren, clayey surface. No 
beach ridges or other indications of an ancient lake have been found. 

147 



148 



ALKALI SPRING VALLEY. 



GEOLOGY. 

The geology of the basin has been described by Ball ^ and m the 
vicinity of Goldfield by Ransome.^ The rocks include (1) Paleozoic 
limestone, etc., (2) pre-Tertiary granitic rocks, (3) Tertiary sedi- 
mentary beds (chiefly the tuflfaceous Siebert lake beds), and (4) 
Tertiary and perhaps Pleistocene lavas. 

The valley fiU underlying the alluvial slope is of the ordinary 
detrital character, probably containing less well assorted gravel than 
the fill of the larger basins. The valley contains no dunes comparable 
to those in Clayton Valley. 

The playa is underlain by homogeneous gray clay or silt-clay, which 
appears to extend with little or no interruption to a depth of 50 feet, 
where water is struck, indicating more porous material. In the two 
drilled wells, 389 feet deep, at the Neptune pumping plant, about 
one-fourth mile from the southeast edge of the playa (PI. XV), 
alternating beds of clay and fine sand were penetrated, the best water- 
bearing sand being found at 289 feet and lower levels. At 389 feet 
drilling was stopped by a hard formation, possibly bedrock. 

OCCURRENCE AND LEVEL OF GROUND WATER. 

The wells that have been sunk in Alkali Spring Valley prove the 
existence of ground water in the valley fill. (See PI. XV.) The data 
in regard to the depths and water levels of these wells are given in 
the following table : 

Wells in Alkali Spring Valley, Nev. 



Designation. 



Type. 



Depth. 



Altitude 

of top of 

well 

above 

sea level. 



Depth to 
water 
table. 



Altitude 

of water 

table 

above 

sea level. 



Gottschalk well 

Klondike well 

Ramsay well 

Neptune drilled well . 
Neptune dug well. . . 



8-inch casing 

Dug 4 J by 5 J feet, with tunnel. 

Dug, 6-foot diameter 

10-inch casing to 300 feet + 

Dug 



Feet. 
125-400 
160 



389 
50 



Feet. 
4,901 

4,970 (?) 
4,994 
4, 850 
4,850 



Feet. 
161 
i'148 
C221 

47.5 



Feet. 
4,840 
4,822 (?) 
4,783 
4,810 
4,803 



1 65.5 feet below top of casing. 

6 Reported by H. O. Lohr, in charge. 

c 211.5 feet below U. S. Geol. Survey bench mark. 

d Reported by C. G. Patrick, manager, Goldfield Consolidated Water Co. 

The two drilled wells at the Neptune pumping plant are situated 700 
feet apart and are cased with 10-inch pipe, without strainers or per- 
forations, that ends a little more than 300 feet below the surface. 
According to Mr. C. G. Patrick, manager of the Goldfield Consolidated 

1 Ball, S. H., A geologic reconnaissance in southwestern Nevada and eastern California: U. S. Geol. 
Survey Bull. 308, 1907. 

2 Ransome, F. L., Emmons, W. H., and Garrey, G. H., The geology and ore deposits uf Uoldlii'ld, 
Nev.: U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 66. 1909. 



U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 



R. 40 E, 




5\y,w///7/f (' y 



/ 7 



I -^ 



MAP OF THE I 



U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 



WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 423 PLATE XV 




LEGEND 



Valley fill 



Bedrock 



Approximate boundary 
of playa 



Well 



Rock boundaries 
after Sydney H. Ball 



MAP OF THE DRAINAGE BASIN OF ALKALI SPRING VALLEY 

NEVADA 

Scale ■250POO 



2 a o 



lo Miles 



ContoTxr intex-A^allOOieet. 

T>citicm -is m^-txri se-a le-veZ. 

1917 



SOUECE AND DISCHAEGE OF GEOUXD WATEE. 149 

Water Co., double-acting cylinder pumps were inst^ed in both wells 
150 feet below the surface and were operated at 120 gallons per minute 
each. As much as 120,000 gallons a day has been pumped from one 
well for at least a month at a time. 

The 160-foot dug well at Klondike is used for locomotive supphes. 
According to Mr. H. O. Lohr, foreman of the pumping plant, this well 
is usually pumped at the rate of 2,350 gallons an hour, or nearly 40 
gallons a minute, which produces a drawdown while the pump is in 
operation, of about 9 feet. Mr. Lohr further reports that the well has 
been pumped at about 2,000 gallons an hour for 56 hours continu- 
ously, but that from August to November its yield is generally dimin- 
ished to such an extent that it can be emptied by long continuous 
pumping. 

Alkali Spring is about 5,100 feet above sea level and in 1913 its 
normal flow was reported as about 55,000 gallons a day. The tem- 
perature was said to be about 115° F. An analysis of the water is 
given on page 154. The spring was not visited, but the following 
description, given by Sydney H, Ball,^ is based on field work in 1905: 

Alkali Spring is located 11 miles northwest of Goldfield. The waters originally rose 
at a number of small seeps, but recently the Combination IVIines Co., of Goldfield, drove 
a tunnel into the gentle slope, concentrating the flow in a single channel. According 
to Mr. Edgar A. Collins, of tliis company, about 85,000 gallons of water per day flows 
from the spring and is pumped to the Combination mill at Goldfield. The water is 
clear, slightly alkaline in taste, and smells of hydrogen sulohide. 

At the mouth of the 40-foot tunnel the temperature of the water is about 120° P., 
and at the breast it is at least 140° F. The stream flows from residual bowlders and 
soil of the later rhyolite, and the bowlders are badly decomposed and crumble readily 
in the hand. One hundred yards north of the pumping station is a low dome of grayish 
brown travertine, probably an abandoned vent of the spring. 

SOURCE AND DISCHARGE OF GROUND WATER. 

The mountainous areas that discharge upon the alluvial gravels of 
Alkah Spring Valley are so small and arid that they furnish compara- 
tively little water, yet they have occasional freshets that undoubtedly 
make some contributions to the underground reservoir. If 5 per cent 
of the precipitation in the basin finds its way to the underground 
reservoir the annual contributions amount to about 5,000 acre-feet. 

It seems necessary to assume that if there we"e no leakage out of the 
basin the water table would rise until it stood near enough the surface 
to permit discharge of ground water through the soil and vegetation, 
as in Clayton Valley and in both basins of Big Smoky Valley, but the 
conditions in Alkah Spring VaUey differ essentially from those in the 
other valleys. At the Neptune wells, which are on the playa, the 
water table in October, 1913, stood at a depth of 47i feet. The playa 
is flat and smooth and is destitute of vegetation over extensive tracts. 

1 Ball, S. H., A geologic reconnaissance in southwestern Nevada and eastern California: U. S. Gaol. 
Survey Bull. 308, pp. 19, 20, 1907. 



150 ALKALI SPRING VALLEY, 

In some places, especially near the borders, there are clumps of vege- 
tation including much big greasewood, but no salt grass, samphire, or 
any other of the famihar indicators of ground water so commonly 
encountered in the shallow-water areas of Big Smoky Valley and Clay- 
ton Valley. Moreover, the soil is dry to an indefinite depth and there 
is no surface accumulation of alkah, although considerable alkah is 
disseminated through the playa formation. (See analysis, p. 161.) At 
aU points where the playa and its borders were examined the condi- 
tions were found to be similar to those in the vicinity of the Neptmie 
wells. No indications of gi^ound water discharge were observed with 
the possible exception of the greasewood, which may draw water from 
a depth as great as 47| feet. 

The water levels revealed by the wells leave much uncertainty as to 
the shape of the water table and the consequent direction of the 
underflow. The water stands shghtly higher above sea level in the 
Gottschalk and Klondike wells than in the Neptune wells, indicating 
a slope of the water table of a few feet per mile and a slow westward 
movement of the ground water, but in the Kamsey well the water 
stands lower than in the Klondike well, although there is no apparent 
means of escape toward the east or southeast. 

The most probable explanation of the disposal of at least a part of 
the ground water in Alkah Spring Valley is that there is leakage 
through the comparatively thin west waU of the valley into Clayton 
Valley, which lies much lower, the ground-water level bemg 530 feet 
lower under the playa of Clayton Valley than at the Neptune wells, 
only 6 miles distant. This explanation will also account in part for 
the great extent of the shallow-water area in Clayton VaUey. No 
estimate can be made of the quantity of ground water available in 
Alkah Spring Valley, but the pumping that has been done at the 
Neptune and Klondike wells indicates a substantial supply. 

QUALITY OF WATER. 

The analyses given on page 157 indicate that the ground water of 
Alkali Spring Valley belongs to the same general type as that of the 
northeastern province of lower Big Smoky Valley (see pp. 115-118), 
for, like that water, it is only moderately mineralized and contains 
sodium in excess of calcium and magnesium. It is of much better 
quality than the water of Clayton Valley or that of the southwestern 
province of lower Big Smoky VaUey, but it contains more mineral 
matter than most of the water of upper Big Smoky Valley. 

The water from the Klondike weU is of good quality for domestic 
and boiler use and for irrigation. The water from the Gottschalk well 
is softer than the Klondike water, but it contains an midesirable 
amount of sodium and bicarbonate. The water of Alkali Spring is 
characterized by its large content of socUum and sulphate, which are 
perceptible to the taste and doubtless have a cathartic effect. This 
water will readily foam in boilers and will deposit considerable alkali 
if used for irrigation. (See analysis, p. 154.) 



GOLDFIELD WATER SUPPLY. 151 

GROUND-WATER PROSPECTS. 

The valley fill of Alkali Spring Valley contains a supply of water 
that is of fairly good quality for domestic and boiler use and for 
irrigation. Although the quantity of water is not large it is adequate 
for ordinary domestic, stock, and industrial purposes, and would prob- 
ably be adequate for a small amomit of irrigation. The valley con- 
tains considerable good soil, but the depth to the water table is too 
great to make pumping for irrigation profitable under present condi- 
tions except possibly for intensive market gardening. 

GOLDFIELD WATER SUPPLY. 

The waterworks of Goldfield are owned and operated by the Gold- 
field Consolidated Water Co. The water is obtained from several 
sources. The principal supply, known as the Lida supply, comes 
from several springs 30 miles southwest of Goldfield and nearMagruder 
Mountain, which reaches an altitude of 9,057 feet above sea level. 
(See fig. 11.) The yield of the springs, especially that of Hyde Spring, 
wliich is the largest, fluctuates considerably, being generally greatest 
in April and May and declining gradually during summer and fall. 
The increase in the spring is probably produced by the melting of- 
snow on the mountains. Midsummer storms have little effect on the 
flow of the springs. The total dependable supply m times of low 
water is reported by Mr. Patrick, the manager, to be 400,000 gallons 
a day. The Lida system includes 5 pumping plants (see fig. 11) 
and 47 miles of pipe, ranging from 3 to 9 inches in diameter, the 
gi^eater part of the main line being 7 inches in diameter. The water 
is in part conveyed by gravity, but some pumping is required, prin- 
cipally to lift the water from Hyde Spring, which issues at a level 
much lower than the other springs. The pumping is heaviest while 
the flow of the springs is least and the draft on the low-level sources 
is greatest. 

The Alkah Spring (see p. 149) and Neptune (see pp. 148-149) sup- 
plies are drawn upon only when the Lida supplyis inadequate, for the 
lift is greater and the water is of the poorer quahty. The Alkah Spring 
water is forced through a 5-inch pipe by a triplex pump operated by 
an electric motor. The water from the Neptune weUs is lifted by 
deep-well cylinder pumps to Alkah Spring. 

On January 1, 1913, the distributing system of the Goldfield water- 
works comprised 24 miles of pipe, 8 inches to one-half inch in diameter, 
44 fire hydrants, and 492 service connections. The total consumption 
in the fall of 1913 was about 380,000 gallons a day, only about 10,000 
gallons of wliich was metered for domestic consumption, the rest bemg 
used at the mines, mills, and raihoad yards. The operating and gen- 
eral expenses in 1912 were about $43,000. The water rates ranged 
from $5.83 per 1,000 gallons for domestic use to 57^ cents per 1,000 



152 



ALKAIJ SPETNG VALLEY. 



gallons for large consumers. It will be noted that owing to the high 
cost of the water the per capita consumption is very small. 



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The analysis on page 154 shows that the Lida supply contains only 
a moderate amount of dissolved mineral matter and resembles most 
nearly the waters of upper Big Smoky Valley. It is good for domestic 
use and for irrigation, but it deposits considerable scale in boilers. 



ANALYSES OF WATERS AND SOILS. 

The results of analyses of the stream, spring, and well waters of 
Big Smoky, Clayton, and Alkali Spring valleys are presented in the 
following tables. The index number corresponds to the number on 
Plate II (in pocket), indicating the locaUty where the sample was 
collected. 

Analyses of water from streams and springs. 

[Analyst, S. C. Dinsmore. For analytical data, see p. 154.] 

Streams in Big Smoky Valley. 



No. 


Source and location. 


Date of col- 
lection. 


Flow per 
minute. 


Temper- 
ature. 


S 1 

S2 


Birch Creek below meadow 3 miles above mouth of canyon. . 

Santa Fe Creek at mouth of canyon, see. IS, T. 16 N., R. 44 E. . 

Kingston Creek at old millnear mouth of canyon, NE. ■} sec. 35, 

T. 16N.,R.43E 


Sept. 27, 1914 
Sept. 30, 1914 

Oct. 1, 1914 
Oct. 7, 1914 


Gallons. 
530 


°F. 
56 
50 


S3 


3,270 
1,570 


46 


S 4 


South Twin River one-eighth mile below mouth of canyon 









S6 

S7 
S8 
S9 
SIO 
Sll 

S12 
S13 
S14 
S15 

S 16 



Springs in Big Smoky Valley. 



Spencer Hot Springs, 7 miles east of Spencer's ranch (main 

spring, fig. 6, p. 50) 

Daniels Spring, one-fourth mile north of house, near northwest 

corner sec. 22, T. 15N.,R.44E 

Mrs. Alice Gendron's spring at house 

Mrs. Alice Gendron's spring at garden 1.3 miles west of house. . 

Millett's spring at house 

Charnock Springs (south spring at camping place) 

Spring at northwest margm of Moore Lake, SE. 4 sec. 22, T. 

12N.,R.43E. 

Mrs. H. M. Logan's spring at house 

Darrough Hot Springs (main spring at house) 

Round Mountainpublicsupply;underflow of Shoshone Creek. 
Warm Spring, near mouth of lone Valley, sec. 11, T. 8 N., 

R.38E. 
Crow Spring, 11 miles northwest of Millers, sec. 34, T. 5 N., R. 

39 E. 



Sept. 16,1913 

Sept. 22, 1913 
Sept. 12, 1913 
Sept. 11, 1913 

do I Several. 

Sept. 23, 1913 '...do.... 
Sept. 27, 1913 1 



450± 
Several. 



Sept. 30, 1913 
do 

Sept. 9,1913 
Oct. 4, 1913 

Oct. 20,1913 



Several. 
150± 



Few. 



58 
190 



Springs in Clayton Valley. 



S17 



Waterworks Spring, at Silver Peak, NE. J sec. 22, T. 2 S., R. 
39E.a 



6 500± 



Springs in Alkali Spring Valley and Goldfield supply. 



S18 
S19 



Alkali Spring, 11 miles northwest of Goldfield, NE.J see. 26, 

T.lS.,R.41E.c 
Lida Spring supply of Goldfield waterworks, near Lida and 

Magruder Mountain (fig. ll).<i 



6 40± 
300± 



120 



a Analysis by S. C. Dinsmore; furnished by the Pittsburg Silver Peak Mining Co. See also analyses 
W 26 and W 27, p. 157. 

6 Reported. 

c Analyst, A. A. Hanks; analysis recalculated. Ball, S. H., A geologic reconnaissance in southwestern 
Nevada and eastern California: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 308, p. 19, 1907. 

<i Analysis by O.H.Martin, Denver^ Colo.; furnished by Goldfield Consolidated Water Co.; recalculated. 

153 



154 



ANALYSES OF WATEES AND SOILS. 



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INDEX. 



A. Page. 

Alcatraz Island, nature of 141 

view of 142 

Alkali Spring, description of. 149, 150, 151, 153 

water of, analysis of 154 

Alkali Spring Valley, geology of 148 

ground water ia, depth to 148-149 

discharge of 149-150 

quality of 150 

source of 149 

irrigation in 151 

location of 147 

map showing 10 

map of 148 

physiography of 147 

playa in 147 

soils of 160 

analyses of 159-161 

springs in 149, 153 

analyses of 153-154 

wells in, descriptions of 148, 156 

water of, analyses of 155-157 

Alluvial divides, positions of 29 

Alluvial fans, description of 24-29 

relation of, to canyons 24-27 

to valley axis 27-29 

views of 25, 42, 60 

Alpine beaches, description of 37 

Antelope Creek, discharge of 76 

Analyses of waters and soils 153-161 

Arc Dome, elevation of 9, 18 

Artesian water, conservation of 112-1 13 

developments of 110-111 

prospects for 111-112 

Austin, history of 11, 13 

precipitation at 66, 67, 68 

B. 

Ball, S. H., on Alkali Spring 149 

Barker Creek, discharge of 77-78 

Beaches, See Lakes. 

Bedrock, ground water supplemented from. . 85 

Belcher Creek, discharge of 76 

seepage from 81, 82, 83 

Belmont, precipitation at 66 

Belmont Milling & Development Co.'s well, 

description of 109 

Bibliography 16 

Big Smoky Valley, access to 11 

artesian water in 110-113 

axis of 27-29 

beaches of 30-41 

See also Lakes. 

bibliography of 16 

climate of 9-11 

fault scarps in 44-45 

geography of . 9-11, 15-16 



Big Smoky Valley, geology of 51-65 

geology of, map showing In pocket. 

ground water in, analyses of 157 

areas of 97-100 

areas of, map showing In pocket. 

depth to 104-107 

discharge of 86-104 

source of 78-86 

See also Groimd water. 

history of 11-14 

investigations in 15-16 

irrigation in 128-139 

See also Irrigation, 
lakes of 29-41, 64 

beaches of 30-41, 60 

profiles of 31 

See also Lakes. 

location of 9 

mapshowing 10 

map of In pocket. 

mounds in 49, 50 

view of 43 

physiography of 17-50 

map showing In pocket. 

playas of 42-44, 61, 97, 119-121 

view of 43 

population of 11 

precipitation in 65-68 

public supplies in 124-128 

reUef of 17-18 

salines of 62, 119, 121-124 

soils of, analyses of 159-161 

See also Soils, 
springs of 86-92, 153 . 

analyses of 153-154 

mounds built by 50, 61-62 

streams in, analyses of 153-154 

streamways in 45-47 

topography of 17-29 

views of 18, 19 

travertine in 61-62, 91 

upper part of, view in 42 

valley fill in 57-58 

water capacity of 107-110 

water provinces of 115-118 

water supply of 13-14, 155 

analyses of 157 

quality of 114-124 

/See aiso Water supply; Groundwater. 

wells of, water of, analyses of 153-157 

See also Wells; Pumping. 

winds of, work of 48-49, 61 

Birch Creek, discharge of 71-72 

seepage from 80, 81, 82 

view of 19 

water of, analysis of 154 

163 



164 



INDEX. 



Blackbird Creek, discharge of. 71 

seepage from 84 

Black Spring, reference to 92 

Blair, description of 140 

history of 13 

Blair Junction, water table at 107 

well at 110 

Blakejr Canyon, stream in 73 

Blue Spring, discharge of 87-88 

Blue Spring Creek, description of 75 

seepage from 81, 82 

Boilers, water for 123 

Boyd Creek, flow of 76 

Broad Creek, description of 76 

Buttes, occurrence of 50 

C. 

Candelaria, precipitation at 66, 67, 68 

Capillary discharge, criteria of 93-97 

deposits from 94 

processes of 92-93 

rise of water in 93-100 

Carsley Creek, discharge of 74 

seepage from 81 

Casing, character of 114 

Charnock beaches, description of 34, 40 

profile of 31 

Charnock Pass, streamway from 47 

Charnock ranch, travertine near 62 

Charnock Springs, description of 91, 153 

travertine near 62, 91 

water of, analysis of 154 

Clay Creek, flow of 75 

Clayton Valley, geology of 141-143 

ground water in 143-145 

depth to 143-144 

discharge of 144-145 

quality of 146 

source of 144 

irrigation in 146 

lake in 143 

location of 140 

map showing 10 

map of 140 

physiography of 140-141 

playa in 141 

rocks of 52 

salines in 142-143 

soils of, analyses of 160-161 

character of 145 , 159-160 

springs in 143-144, 153 

analyses of 153-154 

vegetation of 145 

wells of, water of, analyses of 156-157 

Clear Creek, description of 74 

seepage from 81 

Climate, character of 9-11 

See also Precipitation. 

Cloverdale, rocksnear ^... 53 

Cloverdale Creek, discharge of 77 

seepage from 84 

Coal, pumping by 134-135 

Cottonwood Creek, discharge of 76 

Cove Creek, discharge of 76 

seepage from 82 

Crooked Creek, flow of 73 



Crops, character of and market for 130 

Crow Spring, description of 153 

water of, analysis of 154 

D. 

Daniels beaches, description of 32-33. 39 

profiles of 31 

Daniels Springs, location of 87 

water of, analysis of 153-154 

Darrough Hot Springs, description of 89, 153 

water of, analysis of 153-154 

Decker Bob Creek, description of 75 

Decker Creek, discharge of. 74-75 

seepage from 82 

Desert Power & Mill Co. 's well, description of. 108- 

109,128 

Desert Well beach, description of 37 

Dinsmore, S. C, analyses made by 115 

Ditches, irrigation, seepage from 128-129 

Dole, R. B., on Silver Peak Marsh 14^-143 

Drainage basins, location of, map showing. . . 10 
Drilling, cost of Ill 

methods of 113-114 

Dunes, description of 48-49, 61 

Duty of water, loss in 129-130 

E. 

Electric power, cost of 134 

Emmons, S. F., on Smoky Valley 15 

on Toyabe Range 20-22 

Eruptive rocks, occurrence and character of. . 52-53 

Esmeralda formation, description of 53-54 

section of, stratigraphic 54 

section of, structural 55 

Evaporation, deposits due to 94 

estimation of 79 

from plants 93, 95-97 

from soil 92-94 

of ground water ; 92-97 

rate of 102-104 

P. 

Fans. See Alluvial fans. 

Faulting, effect of, on stream ways 46 

effect of, view showing 18 

Fault scarps, description of 44-45 

springs from 90 

\'iews of 44, 45 

Flats. See Playas. 

Floods, ground water supplemented by 83-84 

Frenchman Creek, flow of 73 

French well, water table at 107 

French Well beach, description of 38 

G. 

Gendron beach, description of 35 

Gendron ranch, flowing well at 110 

flowing well at, log of 59 

Gendron Springs, description of 87-88, 153 

water of, analyses of 154 

Geography, outlines of 9-11, 140, 147 

Geologic liistory, account of 62-65 

Geology, description of 51-62, 141-143, 148 

history of 62-65 

Gillman Creek, flow of. 73 

seepage from 80, 82 



INDEX. 



165 



Gillman Spring, description of 90 

Globe Creek, flow of 73 

Goat Island, nature of 141 

Gold, deposition of 63 

Goldfleld, history of 13 

water supply of 151-152, 153 

analysis of 153-154 

Granite, bowlder of, view of 24 

intrusion of 63 

occurrence and character of 52 

Grinnell Creek, discharge of 75 

•Ground water, areas of 97-100 

areas of, map shelving In pocket. 

depth to 104-107, 143-144, 148-149 

fluctuations of 101-102 

plate showing 102 

plants radicating 95-97 

discharge of, areas of 97-100 

by capillary pores 86 

by drainage 86 

by plants 86 

by springs 86-92 

rate of 102-104 

relation of, to water tables 100-102 

evaporation of, deposits from 94 

mineral content of 115-118, 146, 150 

relation of, to concentration 119-121 

relation of, to rocks 118-119 

potabihty of 121-122 

quaUty of 114-124, 146, 150 

relation of, to use 121-124 

source of 78-86 

See also Water table. 



Hawthorne, precipitation at 66, 67, 68 

Hercules Creek, irrigation from 75 

Hyde Spring, pumping from 151 

Hydraulic drilling outfits, advantages of. . . 113-114 
Hydroelectric power, cost of 134 



lone Creek, underground dam in 99 

lone Valley, drainage of 9, 17, 47, 84, 99 

drainage of, diagram showing 47 

rocks of 55 

springs at mouth of 92, 99 

Irrigation, development of 128-130, 146 

diversions for 70 

ditches for, percolation from 128-129 

from wells 131-139 

water for 123-124, 128, 146 

cost of 135-137 

J. 

Jefferson Creek, discharge of 78 

fans near 26-27 

Jett Creek, discharge of 76 

Jones, F. J., well of, fluctuations in 101-102 

well of, fluctuations in, plate showing 102 

Jones (Fred) ranch, flowing wells on Ill 

Jones Springs, reference to 88 

K. 

Kane (William) well, description of 109-110 

Kermedy, P. B., aid of 95 

King, Clarence, on Smoky Valley 15-16 



Kingston Creek, discharge of 73-74, 153 

fans of 25, 26, 27 

seepage from 81, 82, 83 

water of, analysis of 154 

Klondike, well at 149, 150 

L. 

Lake beds, character of 60-61 

Lakes, beaches of 29-41 

beaches of, gravels of 60 

origin of 38-40 

profiles of 31 

ridge on, section of 60 

stages of 40-41 

time of 64 

See also Tonopah Lake; Toyabe Lake; 
Clayton Valley. 

Last Chance Creek, discharge of 75 

seepage from 82 

Lee, H. C, on discharge of groimd water . . 102-103 

Lida Springs, supply from 151, 153 

water of, analysis of 154 

Literature, list of 16 

Logan beach, location of 35 

Logan Springs, description of 89 

Lone Mountain, description of 23 

fans at ; 26 

fault scarps at, views of 44, 45 

rocks of 51,52 

Lynch Creek, description of 72, 73 

seepage from 80 

M. 

McDougal, D. T. , on potable waters 122 

McLeod Springs, description of 88 

Manhattan, history of 13, 14 

water supply at 127 

Manhattan Canyon, seepage from 84-85 

Markets, demand of 130 

Midway, water table near 106 

well at 109 

Millers, fan at 25 

mills at 13,14 

water supply at 128 

water table at 106, 107 

Millett, precipitation at and near 65, 66, 69-70 

Millett beach, description of 35 

wind at 39 

Millett flat, description of 43 

Millett Springs, location of 88, 153 

water of, analysis of 154 

Mining, history of 11-13 

Minium beaches, description of 33, 39 

profile of 31 

Monte Cristo Range, description of 23-24 

rocks of 52, 53, 55 

Montezuma well, description of 109 

water tables near 106 

Moore Creek, discharge of 77 

seepage from 81, 83 

Moore Lake, beach of 41 

description of 43 

Moore Lake Spring, description of 88-89, 153 

water of, analysis of 154 

Moore Springs, description of 89-90 

Moore's ranch, fan near 26 

Mose Canyon, water of 75 



166 



INDEX. 



Mounds, development of 49,50 

views of 43 

Mountains, descriptions of 18-24 

N. 
Needles Creek, description of 75 

Neptune pumping plant, description of — 14S-149 

Nevada, map of, showing drainage basins 10 

North Barker Creek, discharge of 78 

O. 

Oil, pumping by 134 

Ophir Creek, discharge of 75 

seepage from 82 

Owens Valley, Cal., ground-water discharge 

in 102-104 

P. 

Pablo Creek, discharge of 76 

Paleozoic rocks, occurrence and character of. 51 

Paleozoic time, events in 62-63 

Park Canyon, water of 75 

Peavine Creek, discharge of 77 

fan of 27,28 

seepage from 83, 84 

Physiography, account of 17-50, 140-144, 147 

Plants. See Vegetation. 

Playas, beds of , 61 

description of 42-44, 141, 147 

lack of vegetation in 97 

salt deposits Ln, concentration of 119-121 

views of 43 

Population, data on 11 

Potts, precipitation at 66 

Precipitation, amount of 65-66 

distribution, geographic, of 66-67 

distribution, seasonal, of 67-68 

groimd water supplemented by 85 

Pubhc supplies, description of 124-128 

Pumping, areas for 137-138 

cost of 135-136 

Pumps, power for 133-135 

selection of 131-133 

Purton, A. B., work of 69 

Q. 
Quaternary deposits, description of. . 57-62, 141-143 

Quaternary time, events in 64-65 

Quicksand, difficulties with 114 

R. 
Railroad beaches, description of 35-37 

profile of 31 

Railroads, development of 11, 12, 13 

Ralston Valley, water supply from 124-127, 156 

water supply of, analysis of 157 

Ranches, water supply for 14 

Relief, description of 17-18 

Reservoir, underground. See Ground water. 

Rock Creek, flow of 73 

Rock formations, effect of, on ground water. 118-119 
Rogers beaches, description of 34-35, 39-40 

profile of 31 

Rogers Springs, reference to 88 

Round Mountain, history of 13, 14 

water supply at 127-128 

analyses of 154 

Rye Patch, water supply at 124-127 



S. Page. 

Saltines, concentration of, in playas 119-121 

injury by 122-124 

occurrence and character of 62, 142-143 

San Antonio, water table near 106 

San Antonio Range, description of 23 

precipitation in 67 

rocks of 51, 52, 55, 56 

San Antonio Springs, description of 91 

Santa Fe Creek, description of 73, 153 

mouth of, view of 24 

seepage from 80 

water of, analysis of 154 

Schmidtlein beaches, description of 33, 40 

profile of 31 

Seyler Peak, fan at 26 

water table near 106 

Shallow-water areas, indications of 95-97 

positions of 97-100, 104, 144 

Sheep Creek, flow of 73 

Shoshone Creek (Toquima Range), descrip- 
tion of 78 

Shoshone Creek (Toyabe Range), description 

of 73 

seepage from 80 

Shosh one Range, description of 24 

rocks of 53, 55 

Siebert tuff, description of 56 

Silver Peak Marsh, salines in 141-143 

water of, analyses of 158 

Silver Peak Range, description of 23 

rocks of 51 

Soils, analyses of 159-161 

capillary discharge from 92 

character of 57-62, 141-143, 148 

water capacity of 107-110 

Spanish Creek, flow of. 72, 73 

Spaulding beaches, description of 32, 40 

profile of 31 

salt deposits at 62 

Spencer Hot Springs, description of. . . 50, 90-91, 153 

map of 50 

travertine at 50, 61-62 

water of, analysis of 154 

water table near 105 

Springs, character and distribution of 86-87, 

143-144,149,153 

descriptions of 87-92 

mounds built by 50, 61-62 

water of, analysis of 153-154 

Spurr, T. E. , on Tonopah district 53-54 

Steam, waters for 123 

Stream deposits, character of 58-60 

Streams, features and discharge of 08-78 

ground water supplemented by 79-83 

seepage from 79-83 

water of, analyses of 153-154 

See also Toyabe Range; Toquima Range-, 
particular streams. 

Streamways, trenching of 45-47 

Summit Creek, discharge of 75 

seepage from 82 

T. 

Tarr Creek, description of 72-73 

seepage from 80 

Tertiary deposits, occurrence and character 

of 53-56,141 



INDEX. 



167 



Tertiary deposits, water capacity of 110 

Tertiary eruptive roclsis, deposition of 65 

occurrence and cliaracter of 52-53 

Tertiary time, events in 63 

Tonopah, history of 12-14 

precipitation at 65, 66, 67, 68, 69-70 

rocljs at 51, 52, 55, 56, 63 

water supply at 124-127 

winds at 39 

Tonopah, Laiie, beaches of 35-38, 40 

beaches of, profiles of 31 

description of 30, 64-65 

dunes at 49 

stages of 41 

Topography, character of 17-29 

character of, views sho-^^dng 18, 19 

Toquima Range, description of 22-23 

rocks of 51, 52-53, 55 

streams of 70, 77-78 

Toyabe, Lake, beaches of 32-33, 40-41 

beaches of, profiles of 31 

^ description of 30, 64-65 

stages of 40-41 

Toyabe Range, description of 18-20 

faulting in 22 

view of 44 

glaciation of 20-22 

precipitation in 67 

rocks of 51, 52 

streams of 70-77 

views of 18, 19 

Trail Canyon, description of 75 

Travertine, occurrence and character of. . . 61-62, 91 

Turner (Ed.) wells, flow of 110 

Turner, H. \V., on lake deposits 54 

Twin Rivers, description of 76, 153 

fan on 26, 27-28 

seepage from 83 

water of, analysis of 154 

U. 

Underflow, ground water supplemented by. . 84-85 

V 

Valley, axis of 27-29 

Valley fill, depth of 57-58, 148 



Valley fill, view of 60 

water capacity of 107-110 

Vegetation, development of mounds by 49 

character of 95-97, 145 

ground-water evaporation through 93, 95-97 

species of, indicative of shallow water 95-97 

Vigus beach, description of 33, 39 

W. 

Wall Creek, description of 76 

"Warm Springs, description of 92, 153 

water of, analysis of 154 

Water power, development of 135 

electric pumping by 134 

Water supply, development of 13-14 

quaUty of 114-124 

See also Ground water. 
Water table, fluctuation of 101-102 

fluctuations of, plate showing 102 

position of .' 100, 104-107, 143-144, 148, 150 

plate showing 

Wells, cost of Ill, 135-136 

descriptions of 155-156 

drilling of 113-114 

irrigation from 131-139 

cost of... 135-137 

pumps for 131-133 

power for 133-135 

water of, analyses of 157-158 

yields of 107-110, 126-127 

See also Pumping. 
Wells, flowing, distribution of 110-111 

irrigation from 131 

cost of 137 

Wildcat Canyon, water of 75 

Willow Creek (Toquima Range), discharge 

of... 78 

Willow Creek (Toyabe Range), character of. 71 

Wind, direction of 39 

work of 48-49 

Wisconsin Creek, discharge of 75 

seepage from 82 

Wood Springs, location of 90 



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